Art Madrid'25 – Viva Arte Viva!, Venice biennale

 

 

Anri Sala, “All of a Tremble”, 2016

 

 


Viva Arte Viva is organised in 86 National Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale and in the historic city centre of Venice.The Exhibition also includes nine trans-pavilions distributed in the Arsenal and the Central Pavilion, project curated by Christine Macel. Each of them focuses on one theme: the pavilion of artists and books, of joys and fears, of the common, of the earth, of traditions, of shamans, the dionysian pavilion, of colours, of time and infinity. The 86 pavilions of participating countries, each with its own curator, which will once more bring to life the pluralism of voices, have followed the guidelines suggested by Christine Macel and have accepted the invitations to participate in joint programs.

 

 

 

Vajiko Chachkhiani, `Living Dog Among Dead Lions´, 2017

 

 


Lots of proposals capture the attention of the public in the Biennale, from a crashed van into the floor (by Erwum Wurm) to a cabin where rain cannot stop (Vajiko Chachkhiani). Visitors will find artworks that show the importance of earth, traditions or the collective, like the Chilean video artist Juan Downey (Chile, 1940- New York, 1993), that reveals against eurocentric gaze by making the members of the Yanomani tribe create his video, using one of his cameras. Or spaces where huge installations can be observed, such as the textile artist Sheila Hicks (Nebraska, 1934) one, that fill with wool the back of the pavilion. Other proposals connect with sensorial field, like the one by Anri Sala (Albania, 1974), that reflects on sculptural properties of sound through the synaesthetic relationship between it and the vision. His piece consists on a music box that decorates a whole wall with random patterns while it sounds. In addition, there are poetic performances like `One thousand and One Night´, where Edith Dekyndt (Belgium, 1960) rebuilt a dust square in the floor without stopping. He has to be aware of a projected light over it in order to bring them into line one with each other.

 

 

 

Juan Downey, `The Laughing Alligator´, 1979

 

 

 

Among the national pavilions in Giardini is the Spanish one, with the proposal `¡Únete! Join Us!´, by Jordi Colomer, where he reflects on the public space and how to make it ours. It is a vindication of collective and spontaneous nomadism, symptom that refugees and displaced people suffer nowadays. His proposal consists on a miniature city in the previous room and a series of video pieces that show migrations and cities on movement.

 

 

 

Edith Dekyndt, `One thousand and One Night´, 2017

 

 

 

It has to be emphasized that most of the artists are participating for the first time (103 of 120), the same as countries like Antigua and Barbuda, Kiribati and Nigeria. The German artist Franz Erhard Walther (Fulda, 1939), known for his huge and participative sculptures made of fabrics, has been awarded as the best artist in the official exhibition. This artist is currently exhibiting his artwork in Velázquez Palace, in Madrid, until the 10th of Septembre.

 

 

 

Jordi Colomer, `Join Us! Únete!', 2017

 

 

 

The Venice Biennale offers during the months is taking place selected collateral events promoted by non-profit national and international institutions. They present their exhibitions and initiatives in palaces, museums, churches and public spaces. The city will host plenty of artistic proposals during the 57th Exhibition.

 

 

 

James Lee Bryars, `Gold Tower´, 2017

 

 

 

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.