Art Madrid'25 – TRADITIONAL MATERIALS IN THE UP-TO-DATE ART

With the current need to innovate and be up to date, it seems that certain materials, once traditional, are condemned to oblivion. Gone are the natural pigments made by the artist himself and linen cloths on which the painter applies his primer mixture are increasingly scarce.

However, some creators are reluctant to leave aside elements that have always been present in the art world and in which they find their source of inspiration, as it is the case with patterned fabrics. As a kind of revival of remnants taken from the memory chest, the floral motifs and textures offered by these elements represent a return to an earlier, more traditional era, in which everything demanded time and things went at a lower speed.

Pierre Louis Geldenhuys

Mágica I, 2017

Tessellation and wild silk in light box

95 x 95cm

Pierre Louis Geldenhuys

Nenúfares, 2017

Wild silk and light box

111.5 x 111.5cm

This is the case of Pierre Louis Geldenhuys, who defines himself as a textile artist, as well as being an haute couture designer. His work is an elegant combination of transparencies, textures, volumes and light boxes to create incredible contrast effects that make drawings with the fabric. It is easy to abstract oneself and think that we are before pieces painted on wood board or methacrylate, however, each stroke and shape is a fold of cloth meticulously folded and designed to compose a structure of silk, linen or cotton.

Another artist clearly influenced by the fashion world and who incorporates those references to her works is Paz Barreiro. Her pieces convey that ideal atmosphere of the summertime in which afternoons passed by on the shore of a beach or reading on the grass. But the positivity and joy of her compositions are due to a large extent to the choice of backgrounds, which resemble collages of cutouts superimposed of floral and dotted patterns, something that recalls the aesthetics of the 50s.

By using printed fabrics on the wall and the body of her models, Cecilia Paredes builds an infinite discourse to reflect on the relationship of the human being with nature. Some of her most representative photographs are the result of a previous creation calculated, measured and staged, from which the image remains. With this game of positions between the different planes, Cecilia manages to mimic the figures with their surroundings, as if they were one more element of that colourful and exuberant nature of the fabrics she uses.

The work of Ana Teresa Barboza develops among threads and embroidery frames, with needle and thimble. This artist has explored different themes with a powerful visual impact, despite using such modest materials in her work. The concern for the natural environment, domestic violence, urban growth, are some of the projects of this Peruvian artist who extends the possibilities of these materials and gives them a new meaning.

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.