Art Madrid'25 – THE DIVERSITY OF MARCEL BROODTHAERS

Photo of the exhibition

 

 

Marcel Broodthaers (1924- 1976), a Belgian conceptual artist who based his work on research and new proposals, began his artistic career immersed in the world of literature and cinema, working as a journalist. At age 40 his vision changed and he dedicated his life to the creation of new plastic proposals.

 

Influenced by the surrealism and the experience of filmmaker that was acquiring throughout the years, Broodthaers, continued with its walk by the world of the art with found objects creating collages. Already in the final stretch of his career, he opted for large format works that longed for a space larger than the rooms of a museum.

 

 

Marcel Broodthaers installation

 

 

This retrospective analyzes the entire career of the artist with international colors. The diversity of trends is reflected in this sample of more than 300 pieces and the publication of an extensive catalog that can be found in Spanish and English. The curators Jean-François Chevrier, Thierry de Duve and Benjamin H. Buchloh, have colaborated in the editing of texts.

 

The curious thing about this exhibition is that not only has the MoMA contributed to the creation of this exhibition, such as the Tate Gallery in London, the National Gallery in Washington, the National Gallery of Scotland, the MACBA in Barcelona, ??or the Georges Center Pompidou of Paris, have left their pieces to carry out this great exhibition.

 

Marcel Broodthaers. No title. Triptych. Egg shells on three painted canvases. Image courtesy of Maria Gilissen Archives of Marcel Broodthaers

 

 

And not only the people who go to Madrid can enjoy it, was previously in New York in MoMa and in 2017 will end in The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (Germany), but you are still in time to visit it until September in the Sabatini Building . The curious thing about the experience is that we are facing an exhibition within another exhibition, as it addresses different disciplines and totally different manifestations.

 

 

Decorated. An achievement of Marcel Broodthaers (1975)

 

Broodthaers, reinvented himself as he did with the language of his works. He gave the objects a new meaning adapting them to the space where they cohabit between them. Many of the elements used by the artist are organic, giving special importance to eggshells or mussels (foods famous in the Belgian diet). This exhibition does not leave indifferent to the most curious.

 

 

 

From July 7 to 9, 2025, the Balsera Palace will host the First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art, an intensive 15-hour program that will explore the complex and fundamental question of taste in contemporary art. Organized by the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities at Nebrija University and the Avilés City Council, in collaboration with 9915 — Association of Private Collectors of Contemporary Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art, the course offers a unique opportunity for analysis and debate on the dynamics that shape aesthetic and symbolic value in today’s art scene.


First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art. Avilés, Asturias


The notion of taste, intrinsically tied to aesthetic judgments and power relations, has played a decisive role in the historical prominence of artists and artworks. However, contemporary art—marked by its breaking of conventions, diversity of media and techniques, and critical stance toward traditional canons—raises fundamental questions about the continued relevance of this concept.

This course will explore how the decisions made by key players in the art system—institutions, private collections, galleries, curators, and artists—continually redefine a field of taste shaped by aesthetic, symbolic, cultural, social, and political logics.


"¿But does it exist, and what is the prevailing taste of our time—so seemingly confused, fragmented, indecipherable?" - Omar Calabrese, The Neo-Baroque Era.


The academic program, directed by José Luis Guijarro Alonso, Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University, and Pablo Álvarez de Toledo, Head of the Department of Arts at Nebrija University and the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities, will bring together a distinguished group of national experts—including collectors, critics, curators, gallery owners, and artists—whose contributions will address key issues in shaping aesthetic, symbolic, and market value in today’s art world.


PROGRAM

MONDAY, JULY 7

9:30 AM Registration.

10:00 AM Course Opening Nebrija University Avilés City Council Presented by Rosario López Meras – President of the Association of Contemporary Art Collectors, 9915, and Adrián Piera – President of the ICA, Institute of Contemporary Art.

10:30 AM Course Presentation By José Luis Guijarro Alonso – Art Historian and Anthropologist, Researcher, and Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion The Taste of Private Collecting as a Prelude to History. Speakers: Candela Álvarez Soldevilla – Entrepreneur and Collector; Javier Quilis – INELCOM Collection; José Miguel Vegas Valle – Collector. Moderator: Luis Feás – Critic and Curator.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Individual Lecture On Good Taste in Contemporary Art. Speaker: Marisol Salanova – Curator and Art Critic, Director of Arteinformado.

4:45 PM Panel Discussion The Influence of Galleries in Shaping Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Elba Benítez – Gallerist; Ricardo Pernas – Gallerist (Arniches 26); Aurora Vigil-Escalera – Gallerist. Moderator: Rafael Martín – Coleccion@casamer.

6:00 PM End of Day.

6:30 PM Activity and Cocktail Visit to the Exhibition Asturian Artists in the Pérez Simón Collection – Avilés.

TUESDAY, JULY 8

10:00 AM Individual Lecture Contemporary (Bad) Taste: Kitsch, Camp, and Tacky. Speaker: Julio Pérez Manzanares – Autonomous University of Madrid.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion Institutions and the Formation of Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Virginia López – Artist, Founder of PACA_Proyectos Artísticos Casa Antonino; Julieta de Haro – Artistic Director of CentroCentro; Carlos Urroz – Director of Institutional Relations, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Moderator: Laura Gutiérrez – Director, School of Art of Oviedo.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Panel Discussion Beyond the Eye: The Taste for Ethical, Ecological, Social, or Political Concerns in Contemporary Art. Speakers: Semíramis González – Independent Curator; Eugenio Ampudia – Artist; Claudia Rodríguez-Ponga – Independent Curator. Moderator: Bárbara Mur Borrás – PhD in Fine Arts.

5:00 PM End of Day.

5:30 PM Activity Visit to the Studiolo Exhibition – Candela Álvarez Soldevilla Collection.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9

9:30 AM Meeting with Asturian Artists Speakers: María Castellanos – Artist; Avelino Sala – Artist; Consuelo Vallina – Artist. Moderator: Pablo Álvarez de Toledo – Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Activity Visit to the Niemeyer Center – Avilés.

Course Closing Ceremony.





This course is designed for art professionals, collectors, researchers, and students seeking an in-depth analysis of the dynamics that shape taste and collecting practices in contemporary art. Adopting a critical and multidisciplinary perspective, it provides a unique opportunity to rigorously examine the aesthetic, symbolic, and structural factors that underpin the legitimization of contemporary art.