Art Madrid'26 – THE LONDON SCHOOL IN MALAGA

Lucian Freud. Leight Bowery, 1991

 

 

Tate London, in collaboration with the Picasso Museum of Malaga and with the sponsorship of Caixabank have created this exhibition to commemorate these ten artists. By the 1950s these ten lives, Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud, Michel Andrews, Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg, William Coldstream, Ronald B.Kitaj, Leon Kossoff, Paula Rego and Euan Uglow, crossed into a city, London. Each one with its characteristics contributed to create the famous School of London (term that neither the historians nor they themselves gave by official).

 

 

View of the exhibition

 

 

Their restlessness and admiration, united them to look for another approach of the materialization and representation of the human body, like setting the beautiful English city that so much inspired them. After II World War, London, was the true moral force of Europe and for that reason all the creative minds were concentrated there. The moods did not play in their favor and the emigration grew, giving shelter to all of them. Figuration took power, faced with a widespread abstraction, the trend had changed.

 

 

 A spectator in front of the work "The Dance", 1988 of Paula Rego

 

 

The protagonists of his works are born of disparate places, photographs, portraits, anonymous people in the street ... this current "dedicated" to the body, soon obtained the recognition of the critic, arriving at its maximum splendor already in the American continent, more concretely in U.S. But they not only represented the body, their eyes also deviated to landscapes or familiar as their studies or newly discovered on travel.

 

 

View of the exhibition

 

 

Its curator, Elena Crippa, considers that over the years the work of these artists has been revalued and has reached the present day as a fully consolidated current. You can visit the exhibition until September 17, at the Picasso Museum in Malaga, also has a large parallel offer such as workshops and talks.
 

 

 


ART MADRID’ 26: 21 YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY ART


Discover all the information about the artists and galleries participating in the 21st edition of Art Madrid. The catalog features a curated selection of the works presented in this edition, along with the most relevant details of the event, making it an essential tool for engaging with the fair’s key figures and exploring the defining elements of today’s art scene.


In 2026, Art Madrid celebrates its 21st edition, further establishing itself as a leading event within Spain’s cultural sector. From March 4 to 8, the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles will once again become a meeting point for galleries, collectors, artists, and contemporary art enthusiasts.


Over the past twenty-one years, the fair has evolved into a dynamic and ever-expanding platform, fostering diversity in artistic languages, techniques, and discourses. In this edition, the Galleries Program brings together around 35 exhibitors from more than seven countries, offering a representative overview of the most recent developments in contemporary creation.


The Art Madrid ’26 catalog serves as a key publication for discovering the work of this edition’s galleries and artists —marked by experimentation and a plurality of perspectives— while also documenting the conceptual axes that shape the fair. As part of the Parallel Program, INHABITING THE EPHEMERAL: A Reflection on the “Species” of Spaces proposes a reflection on space, relationships, and shared experience, expanding the understanding of the fair beyond its commercial dimension and highlighting its cultural and experiential significance.


In addition, the catalog presents the initiatives that complete the program, such as the Open Booth dedicated to emerging creation, the Nebrija Space in collaboration with Nebrija University, the Performance Series “Open Infinite. What the Body Remembers,” the One Shot Collectors Program, and the Patronage Program, reaffirming the fair’s commitment to supporting, mediating, and accompanying contemporary art at every stage.

We invite you to discover more about Art Madrid ’26 through the catalog of its 21st edition — a publication that, beyond serving as documentary memory, becomes a cartography of the present artistic moment and an open door to new ways of inhabiting contemporary art.