Art Madrid'26 – "VARIACIONES" BY VIRGINIA RIVAS AND "AVATARES" BY ROBERTO LÓPEZ, WITH DDR ART GALLERY

DDR Art Gallery is participating for the second consecutive year in the One Project program of Art Madrid. “Variaciones" by Virgina Rivas and "Avatares" by Roberto López can be seen at the Fair as part of the project "Salvajes. La cage aux fauves", curated by Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta.

The art works that the artist Virginia Rivas (Madrid,1981) will present in Art Madrid are part of a wide project called "Variaciones", in which the artist investigates about the color in our environment as well as the perception that we have of the same one depending on our emotional state and of the political and social situation of each one of us. Rivas analyzes our reality through colors.

The artist from Extremadura experiments with painting from a classical pictorial process, investigating forms and matter through abstraction and gesture. Rivas also relies on other artistic media such as photography in its various forms (polaroids, slides, etc.), video, light boxes or neon.

Virginia Rivas, Estudio AVNT, 2019

Virginia Rivas incorporates in some of her works small written texts, generally fragmented and sometimes practically illegible, but which are part of a narrative discourse that is totally intentional on the part of the artist, who integrates the graphics of the words as another plastic element of the composition. The expressiveness of the gesture, the colour, the light and the words are part of the abstraction inherent in her work, through which Rivas investigates intimacy and collectivity, establishing a fundamental game in which space and the spectator are indispensable.

The tandem of artists participating in Art Madrid with DDR Art Gallery is completed by Roberto López Martín (Madrid, 1982). "Los niños tele, el nuevo homo videns" includes a series of works with which he participates in "Salvajes". The artist works with different plastic languages that range from his studies in graphite and wax to his collages, present in another series such as "Fluffy Children". In Art Madrid, the artistic proposal is centred on his sculptures, known as "avatars" worked in fibreglass, resin and other materials.

Virginia Rivas, Estudio GTCCR, 2019

In "Avatares", López Martín focuses on childhood, on the innocence of the child when he begins to create a relationship with the objects around him, giving his toys imaginary values and personalizing them in a subjective way. This relationship, according to the artist, "is distorted when corporations enter to participate establishing uses and forms of consumption on the different toys, making these pre-format a way to relate to the world of children".

Roberto López's sinister avatars fight against all manipulation by the toy industry and in his "ready made" pieces he reconstructs and assembles pieces he finds in the garbage or selects consciously using his sense of humor and his most perverse sensibility.

RLM

Avatar Cowboy, 2017

Tela sobre fibra de vidrio y resina

150 x 30cm

DDR Art Gallery focuses its efforts on promoting the work of both established and emerging Latin American artists. In the virtual space of DDR Art Gallery, we find works from almost all disciplines: photography, sculpture, collage, illustration and urban art. DDR Art Gallery were pioneers in the direct sale of contemporary art on the Instagram platform, and without a doubt, the presence both online and in social networks, is the basis of the project since its inception. Its main motto is: "If you're not on Google, you don't exist."

RLM

Avatar El Elegido, 2016

Tela sobre fibra de vidrio y resina

150 x 30cm

Since it was founded in 2006, the gallery maintains two lines to promote the work of its artists: online sales and attendance at national and international fairs, with a clear focus on the contemporary art market. A third line of promotion and sale is the space of Theredoom Gallery in Madrid, where DDR Art Gallery organizes individual and thematic exhibitions. In addition to Rivas and López Martín, DDR promotes the work of six other artists: Annita Klimt, David Delgado Ruiz, David Heras Verde, Evangelina Esparza, José A. Vallejo and Raúl Casassola.

 


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.