Alba Cabrera Gallery presents in Art Madrid the most intimate work of three women artists: Carmen Michavila, Isabel Gutiérrez and María Angélica Viso. Three different artistic personalities that connect with the same mystical sensibility in their artworks.

Carmen Michavila (Valencia, 1959) reflects about invisibility in her works, evoking a hidden reality. Michavila, starting from a magical realism, invites us to an inner and intimate journey, and as if it were a children's story, leads us to the purest essence. Between delicate and meticulous lines, the artist leaves empty spaces for the spectator, letting his imagination fly, to complete them.

It is inevitable not to distinguish in the art work of the Valencian artist, christian connotations. The verticality of her imaginary figures and her neutral-coloured backgrounds evoke images of earthly paradise and hell. An example of this is the work belonging to the series "Job 38:11: You will go this far, but no further. This is where the pride of your waves will stop".

Carmen Michavila

Sin Título, 2019

Acrylic on canvas

116 x 89cm

In the artwork of Isabel Gutiérrez (Madrid, 1955), the configuration of space plays a fundamental role. With a slight tendency towards the cubist work of Paul Klee and Sonia Delaunay, the paintings of Isabel Gutiérrez are developed within the figurative style, being the colour and the light essential elements in the composition. Nature is represented by the artist in its multiple manifestations, generating a chromatic and formal game defined by the different effects of light, that are multiplied every time, like nature itself, in the flora and fauna of her landscapes and gardens.

”In my paintings I have investigated relationships between colours, compositional structures and different treatments in the brushstroke, with the objective of signifying the evolution of my thoughts about the shave I perceive.”

In art works such as “Primeras hojas” or “Baile de hojas I”, both made in 2019, the great chromatic intensity and very well defined borders build the figurative motifs. The organic elements of its leaves, plants or animals are reaffirmed from a plastic point of view, much more expressive and textured than the geometric surfaces of flat colours that complement them.

Isabel Gutiérrez

Primeras hojas, 2019

Oil on board

40 x 40cm

Isabel Gutiérrez

Baile de hojas I, 2019

Oil on board

40 x 40cm

The geometrical subtle sculptures by the artist from Caracas María Angélica Viso, complete the exhibition proposal of the Alba Cabrera Gallery for Art Madrid. María Angélica Viso (Venezuela, 1971), has among her great references the artists Cruz Díez and Jesús Rafael Soto.

Viso’s artworks are generally attached to the wall. These volatile sculptures, with polyvalent and sophistic shapes, are capable of mutate into other figures. In all their pieces, as the curator Susana Benko points out, "the common element is the image of lightness.

Maria Angélica Viso Penso

Geometrías orgánicas, 2019

Aluminio y pintura anodizada

80 x 80cm

”I find a similarity between paper and metal and so I face the latter, as if it were a parchment, discovering its subtle and soft side, a facet that sometimes seems to hide it in its rigidity. Rigidity that I take advantage of to perforate it with inserts, piercing it, crossing it and then achieving illusions of fabric in movement"

Leaving behind his works of straight lines and statically geometric planes which he makes lose their rigidity, turning them into ethereal only by separating them from the surface and curving them with subtle delicacy, Viso evolves into a new series which he calls "Organic Geometries ". A series he has been working on since 2018 until today.

Buying the first work of art always instils respect. A difficult feeling to define that mixes vertigo with adrenaline. But over uncertainty and caution, a pleasurable sense of connection, understanding, and desire prevails. That work that, once seen, stays in the mind, reappears in the memory several times a day and seems to tell you that it is willing to be part of your home, is the perfect candidate to make the decision.

In the first steps, many collectors do point out that one does not start from an established plan, but rather that one acquires pieces based on taste and the connection one feels with them until, after time, they realise that the volume of works that accumulates can be labelled as a "collection". For example, this is how Alicia Aza explains it:

“I was not aware that I was collecting until many years later when a third party named me as a collector and talked about my collection. In 2005, I became aware of what collecting means and decided to articulate a collection with an identity of criteria and formats”.

Marcos Martín Blanco, co-founder, with his wife Elena Rueda, of the MER Collection, shares this same opinion:

“Collecting has been a passion, driven by a visceral state that encourages you to do so. The collection, in terms of acquisitions, has not been particularly complicated because, let's face it: it is easy to buy because they are all beautiful things and you have some clear idea of where you want to go, but at first those preferences were not so clear. It is with the time that a criterion is being formed”.

It is not always this way, of course, but for the buyer who starts out on this path, the personal connection that entails the first piece is essential. There it is the germ of a lasting relationship that is not limited to a simple aesthetic question but is an open window to knowledge, to exploration, to a world that is often unknown to us and awakens our fascination. The seed of that connection is purely sentimental, and it is precisely this impulse that determines the first acquisitions. The first piece is never forgotten.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Ana Maqueda

Exceeding the usual recommendations made by advisers and agents, rare is the occasion when the art lover decides to buy by pure investment. These paths usually open later, when the volume of pieces is large enough. In addition, there are those who are a bit against this classic concept of the traditional collector, approached from an eccentric, elitist and little accessible vision. On the contrary, art buyers are, above all, art lovers, sentient beings and permeable to creative stimulus who, at a given moment, decide to deepen the relationship they already have with art to take a piece home.

It is not that hard to overcome that small psychological barrier that turns the visitor into a buyer if one approaches the matter from a more personal and intimate perspective than from social consideration. Small-format works, graphic work or serial photography are of great help for this, whose price range, generally more affordable, allows a closer comparison to the daily basis expenses. In this way, the purchase of art falls within the range of feasible activities and becomes something close and possible.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Marc Cisneros

At that moment, a different relationship with art begins, based on pure experience and coexistence with the acquired piece. Perhaps it can be seen as an act of daring, but on many occasions, it is more a matter of necessity and transformation. Collectors also agree that the acquisition of an artwork is an exercise on personal analysis and opening up to a new field of knowledge that was previously alien to us. Alicia Aza explains that the reason she acquired her first piece of video art, by Sergio Prego, is because she did not understand it and because she saw it as a challenge and an opportunity to self-improve. This open window to knowledge creates new connections and bonds with creators, as one of the most fascinating parts of the process. Candela Álvarez Soldevilla explains that

"I think the most interesting thing in the art world is talking to artists. They are people with a special sensitivity to listen and understand.”

And Alicia Aza also says:

"I can share the satisfaction of being able to count on many artists in my circle of close friends today, and that is a long way to go."

Thus, with works that seem acceptable within the horizon of expenses that each one considers affordable, it is easy to find a piece that catches us. Since then, our home also evolves into a space in which art has a permanent place and presence, and there is no doubt that this transforms us inside.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Henar Herguera

Jaime Sordo, owner of Los Bragales collection and founder of the 9915 Contemporary Art Collectors Association, has always defined his relationship with art as a true passion and a vital necessity. For buyers who start on this path, he has the following recommendation:

“It is an essential condition that they feel the need to live with their passion to enjoy the works. Another very important aspect is that before making decisions for purchases, they are informed, so it is necessary to read specialised newspapers and books, visit exhibitions and museums and a lot of contact with galleries, which is an important and very specific source of information of the artists they represent. Finally, the presence in national and international art fairs. All this generates information and training.”

Indeed, fairs have become a good place for discovery because they condense a wide offer and allow diverse and global contact in a concentrated way. For this reason, many new generation buyers start in the context of an event such as Art Madrid, whose closeness and quality constitute a unique opportunity to meet, soak up and feed the passion for art.

(*) quotes taken from various interviews published in public media between 2013 and 2019.