Madrid has become in recent years a mandatory stop of the annual cycle of contemporary art. One of the creators of this well-deserved international positioning is the ARCO International Contemporary Art Fair, which returns this February to the pavilions number 7 and 9 of the Feria de Madrid (IFEMA).
Instituto de Visión. ‘064A1420’.
This 37th edition of ARCO Madrid will feature the select presence of up to 208 galleries from 29 countries. 160 of them are in the General Program with avant-garde exhibitions of painting, sculpture, installations, photography, video, new media and illustration.
Graça Brandao. ’54b’.
Organized by the ARCO Foundation, this year’s edition will count on with something new: a section curated by Chus Martínez, Rosa Lleó and Elise Lammer entitled ‘The Future is not what is going to happen, but what we are going to do’ and that through the feminine optics of this three curators 19 galleries plus 19 artists will be shown in order to “imagine, produce and propose a vision of the future complexity“, says the organizing team.
Cinnamon.’ Anoukkruithof folly’.
With retrospectives by artists who touched on the subject in depth, such as Július Koller or Salvador Dalí, the space will also serve to meet the work of young talents such as Teresa Solar Abboud or Eva Fàbregas. The concept of the future as star of the exhibition will also be extended to other areas of reflection and artistic thought in the capital, such as Thyssen Bornemisza, Matadero Madrid, CA2M or CentroCentro.
Eben.’ Olhando or céu’.
In the same way, this fair will allow its visitors to enjoy other two curated programs. With the help of María del Corral, Lorena Martínez and Catalina Lozano, Diálogos will have 13 galleries that intend to explore in depth the work of artists such as Carlos Garaicoa, Armando Andrade Tudela, Ryan McGinley, Hélène Delprat or Latifa Echakhch.
Álvaro Alcázar + Juan Garaizabal .’Pagoda Frontal’.
In Opening, the curators Stefanie Hessler and Ilaria Gianni, will show 19 new galleries, with a maximum of 7 years of existence and originating from unusual focuses of contemporary art such as Havana, Dubai, Santo Domingo, The Hague, Bologna, Bucharest or Guadalajara.
Nicolas Krupp + Jacky Strenz .’ Dach der Welt’.
The program for 2018 has as a main objective to promote modern Latin American art, with the continent reaching two thirds of the total foreign sample in Madrid.
This recognized international fair will enable the program #Mecomprounaobra (I buy a piece of art) to focus the attention of collectors from around the world and give a new impulse to collecting. This special program will have a free buyer advice service driven by the Fundación Banco Santander and the Young Collectors program that will invite around thirty young collectors to participate.
Edgar Martins. ‘The Bayou of Borba’.
In this sense, the ARCO Foundation will work through its newly created International Council committee, composed of award-winning artists from previous editions, whose mission is the creation, conservation and dissemination of modern art.
There are many companies from the national and international private sector that will take advantage of the platform offered by ARCO to deliver, in turn, their own awards such as Production of a Work of Art, Electronic Art, or Emerging Art, among other recognitions.
But ARCO Madrid can not be exempt from a space for reflection regarding the contemporary art sector; that is why a select program of forums of discussion will take place in the arena of the fair. The Collector’s Forum, divided into sessions directed by Estrella de Diego, Judith Benhamou-Huet and Bea Espejo, will be an exchange of ideas and projects of the international community among artists, theorists and galleries.
De las Misones. ‘Manolita’.
On the other hand, the Museums Forum will be developed with the VII Encounter of Museums of Europe and Ibero-America led by Ferrán Barenblit and Julieta González and that will have Latin American art as a guiding thread.
Laveronica.’ Kunsthalle Jafri’.
Finally, the Future Seminar: Beyond the Crystal Ball, directed by the curators of the fair and with the participation of international art theorists.
Sabrina Amrani. ‘NS10’
And if all of this were not enough, beyond the walls of IFEMA, a significant number of art spaces around the city will be embellished with novelties and exhibitions throughout the week among museums, private collections, centers, foundations and art circles of all kinds and excellent level.
Dürst Britt & Mayhew. ‘Van Rooij’.
ARCO Madrid has opened for professionals in the artistic sector from Wednesday 21st February, and for the general public from today Friday 23rd and until Sunday February 25th from 12am to 8pm, in the Pavilions 7 and 9 of the Feria de Madrid, located on Avenida del Partenón, 5, Barajas.
Translated by Raquel Sanchez
