Yorokobu magazine has just celebrated 10 years of serving creativity and its best stories. As Mar Abad, the magazine's founding partner, explains, «the most rewarding thing has been finding so much talent that I had yet to discover and observe how these people have become established creators».

Carmen Reina, “Cabeza casposa, poco piojosa”, obra seleccionada para la portada de Yorokobu 2019-20

This year, Art Madrid is joining forces with Yorokobu to welcome a group of illustrators and creators who are faithful to the genuine style of this medium which, with a decade under its belt, has managed to carve out a path for itself in the publishing sector, always maintaining the freshness, originality and a small irreverent touch that so characterise its publications. This twinning is also a double celebration, 10 years for Yorokobu and 15 years for Art Madrid, an occasion that deserves to be shared with the public at the height of Art Week in the capital.

The booth that Yorokobu will have in Art Madrid is a small tribute to the trajectory of the medium, based on the discovery of potential talents, since the two selected artists were and are collaborators of the magazine: Juan Díaz-Faes and Buba Viedma.

Ilustración de Buba Viedma, 2018

The Asturian Juan Díaz-Faes will present his project Black Faes, the result of an artistic residency promoted by the SOLO Collection within its lines of patronage for visual artists. With the support of SOLO, this creator makes his work available to the public for the first time.

In Black Faes, the artist transfers his classic patterns to pieces which black is the main colour, created with the intention of being shared and enjoyed in domestic spaces.

Ilustración de Juan Díaz-Faes, 2018

Each piece has its name and its own history. Tuchelin, Bogey, F.Devillers, Blakinete,Mayan or BlackBoin are part of the gang of geometrical pieces that, thanks to the incorporation of Talavera ceramics, recovered books, woods or canvases, take shape and propose a different story depending on where we look at them from.

The second proposal from Yorokobu comes through Buba Viedma. The illustrations presented by the Madrilenian come subsequently to the series The rabbit and the snake.

Viedma continued investigating in his work about The Symbol and the archetypes of his dreams, about his own and collective unconscious, looking for the way to bring these symbols and their meanings to the new times, but, as he himself explains, "always freaking out about the right thing".

Retrado de Díaz-Faes

Diaz-Faes draws, eats and laughs in equal parts. And if he's quiet, he gets bored. One of Yorokobu's leading illustrators, this Asturian artist, who has developed his career between illustration and muralism, is the author of 10 books and has collaborated with media such as GQ, El País or Ling, among others. He has also worked on campaigns for brands such as San Miguel, Nickelodeon, Ford and Vodafone.

Buba Viedma, "El conejo y la serpiente"

Buba Viedma is an illustrator and graphic designer born in Madrid. He grew up in a neighbourhood where going out into the street after sunset meant going home barefoot, so it was much more practical to stay at home watching cartoons, reading and, of course, drawing.

He had a long mili of printers, studios and advertising agencies. At the same time, he carried out freelance orders for small clients under the umbrella of Mentecalamar Studio. At the beginning of 2014 he decided to bet on the studio and work on his own.

He is a regular contributor to Yorokobu magazine, with whose collaborations he has won two ÑH awards and one APIM prize.

In his free time he cleans his house, does the laundry, cooks and fights against evil, although for the latter he does not have much time left.

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.