Art Madrid returns to Madrid Art Week and will celebrate its seventeenth edition from February 23 to 27 at the Crystal Gallery of Palacio de Cibeles. A unique, open-plan, and bright space located in the ‘Landscape of Light’: next to Prado Museum, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and MNCARS - Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

Art Madrid 2021

Art Madrid selection committee has once again been in charge of evaluating the applications of galleries interested in participating in the seventeenth edition of the fair. To guarantee a high level of artistic quality in the Art Madrid'22 programming, the committee has evaluated the applications based on the proposals submitted and the represented artists' careers. On this occasion the committee was integrated of Alfonso de la Torre (critic and curator), Aurora Vigil-Escalera (gallery owner), Natalia Alonso (critic and curator), Angel Samblancat (gallery owner and international fairs consultant), and Javier López (gallery owner) ).

For the first time, the galleries will participate in Art Madrid: Galerie Alex Serra (Köln, Germany), Arena Martínez Projects (Madrid, Spain), ARTITLEDcontemporary (Herpen, Netherlands), Dr. Robot Gallery (Valencia, Spain), GARNA Art Gallery ( Madrid, Spain) and Jackie Shor Arte (São Paulo, Brazil).

Carolina Serrano, “My nameless words II”, Paraffin, 91 x 12 x 8 cm (2021). Galerie Alex Serra ©

In the other hand, the international galleries at Art Madrid will be: Art Lounge Gallery (Lisbon, Portugal), ARTITLEDcontemporary (Herpen, Netherlands), Collage Habana (Havana, Cuba), Galeria São Mamede (Lisbon, Portugal), Galerie Alex Serra (Köln, Germany), Galerie LJ (Paris, France), Jackie Shor Arte (São Paulo, Brazil), Nuno Sacramento (Ílhavo, Portugal), Studija Mindiuzarte / Kaunas (Kaunas, Lithuania) and Yiri Arts (Taipei), Taiwan).

More than 160 artists will exhibit their work at the fair, dealing with different disciplines such as painting, sculpture, photography, and installation, and offering the visitor a unique experience enjoying contemporary art.

Among them are some of the most prominent emerging artists of the moment such as Mária Švarbová, Carmen Pastrana, Chang Teng-Yuan, Costa Gorelov and Camille Bonneau; mid-career as Carlos Cartaxo, Gerard Fernández Rico and Marcos Tamargo; along with established artists such as Chema Mádoz, David Rodríguez Caballero, Carmen Calvo, Uiso Alemany, Alberto Guerrero, Josecho López Llorens, Manolo Valdés, Rafael Barrios and Lars Zech, among others.

Carlos Cartaxo, “Several Windows VII”, Acrylic and enamel on canvas. 195x140cm (2021).Arena Martinez Projects ©

Chang Teng Yuan, “The School of Parrotman Athens” ,Acrylic on canvas, 130x193cm (2021). Yiri Arts ©

PROGRAMS

One Shot Hotels is once again the sponsor of Art Madrid and has prepared two initiatives with which it renews its faithful commitment to contemporary art. One is the curated program by Natalia Alonso, who will curate a tour of various artworks exhibited at Art Madrid'22 to introduce and bring the public closer to understanding the art market ecosystem. The other is the collectors' program by Pía Rubio, one of the most prestigious art consultants in our country. The service aims both to enhance the commercial work of the galleries and to offer advice on the acquisition of works of art for new buyers.

Finally, the fair co-organizes, together with the video art platform Proyector, a parallel program focused on video creation, action art, and performance, under the curatorship of Mario Gutiérrez. In this edition, Proyector will focus on investigating and rethinking the concept of “loop” through the pioneers of video art, both from the creation point of view, distribution and collecting. During the fair you will also be able to enjoy an installation by Gary Hill, considered the founder of New Media Art, and two live proposals by Hill himself; together with works by Llorenç Barber, a pioneer of sound art.

Below, we detail the list of galleries of Art Madrid 2022:

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.