March Art Guide - Madrid

Two contemporary art exhibitions not to be missed in Madrid during March and April! Recommendations by our local guide in Madrid, Maria Jose Manjon. Discover even more on a private tour.

I.

Exhibition: Intuición
Artist: Carlos Bunga
Venue: Galería Elba Benítez
Dates: Until April 2018

Carlos Bunga, in his current exhibition Intuición (the title is in partial reference to Bergson) at the Galería Elba Benítez, explores the delicate relationship, often fraught yet potentially enriching, between intuitive perception and rational analysis. The exhibition consists of a series of new works by Bunga, all conceived specifically for the gallery’s spaces. As is characteristic of Bunga’s practice, color is a central component of the works’ power (including an intense saffron orange,) as is the tactile presence of the artist’s signature, povera-style materials, such as cardboard, packing tape and house-paint. Also in keeping with Bunga’s established working methods is the interaction between the objects and the architectural elements of the gallery, with works created in situ and at times encrusted or painted onto the gallery’s walls and floors.

II.

Exhibition: 2017 Multiverse Grants for Video Art Creation
Artists: Various Artits
Venue: The Sala Multiverso exhibition space
Dates: Until May 2018

Also, if you like video art do not miss the BBVA Foundation that have provided funds to ten innovative projects through its 2017 Multiverse Grants for Video Art Creation. The Multiverse Grants form part of the BBVA Foundation’s engagement with one of the languages most expressive of our time – that of the moving image. Its work in this area spans the whole cycle from creation – through other one-off vehicles besides these grants – up to and including public exhibition. The Sala Multiverso exhibition space in the Foundation’s Madrid headquarters, with its permanent program, free admission and flexible opening times, has become a reputed venue for video art in Spain. Further, the Foundation organizes regular encounters with artists and students of the visual arts, giving the interested public a chance to learn more about the topics and techniques featuring in the artworks.

Take a private art tour in Madrid to discover even more!

72 Hours in Madrid

While the Spanish capital city of Madrid is well known for its football prowess and great food, its thriving art scene should not be overlooked. Oh So Arty decided to travel to Madrid this February for the famed Feria ARCO. Keep reading to learn how we spent an arty 72 hours in Madrid and if you’re planning a trip to Madrid meet our local guides!

Stop one was of course, ARCO. The fair was divided into the main section with national and international leading art galleries and commissioned programs with “Dialogues” which consisted of galleries selected by María de Corral, Lorena Martínez de Corral and Catalina Lozano whose stands presented the works of two artists with a connection conceived especially for ARCOmadrid. We also enjoyed “Opening”, a program which was selected by Steffanie Hessler and Ilaria Gianni that presented younger galleries.

Dvir Gallery at ARCO, Dialogues section

Our favourite project at the fair was “What is going to happen is not “the future”, but what we are going to do”, where the aim of the curators Chus Martínez, Elise Lammer and Rosa Lleó in their selection of galleries was to turn the fair into a “place that allows us to imagine, produce and propose a view of the complexity that awaits us”.  

'What is going to happen is not “the future”, but what we are going to do' at ARCO.

While we initially planned our trip to Madrid around ARCO the city is bursting with other creative options even without the art fair. Which is why on day two we made sure to visit some galleries! Ariel Schlesinger's and Wilfredo Pietro’s show ‘Thank you, gracias’ at Nogueras Blanchard was a highlight of the trip. The two artists first collaborated on an exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Art Tel Aviv in 2014 and it was exciting to see them reunite.

Image: Installation view, Ariel Schlesinger & Wilfredo Prieto at Nogueras Blanchard

After gallery hopping it was time to visit one of the most renowned art institutions in Europe, Museo Reina Sofia. This impressive museum opened in 1999 and has been a destination for 20th and 21st century art ever since. We were lucky to visit the museum during William Kentridge’s exhibition, ‘Enough and more than enough’, curated by Manuel Borja-Villel and Soledad Liaño, a fascinating show which explored his stage work, including theatre, opera and performance. Kentridge, who is originally from South Africa, experiments with a variety of mediums including prints, films, drawings and performances.

William Kentridge exhibition at Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid

We couldn’t miss the Museo del Prado, and a very moving moment during our visit was to see Diego Velasquez “Las Meninas” and Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights”.

Bosch “The Garden of Earthly Delights”. Image courtesy of Museo del Prado.

The next day we stepped outside of the institutional walls to take a street tour with Cool Tours Spain, with whom we’re now collaborating on Oh So Arty. It was amazing to spend time with our guides Javier Garcia and Santi González, who showed us the neighborhood of Lavapiez which hosts beautiful street art pieces

graffiti in the Lavapiez neighborhood

Learn more about Oh So Arty in Madrid guides here!

Madrid Art Guide - September

Exhibition: Stains in the Silence
Artists: Cristina Lucas
Venue: Sala Alcalá 31
Dates: Until November 5th

This exhibition is a reflection whose general axes are history, time and memory, materialized through installations and video projections that delve into concepts such as the use of art as a means of historical research, conceptual poetry or the fascination with time.

The exhibition, curated by Gerardo Mosquera, includes large-format works and is articulated around the video-investigation-installation Ray that does not cease, a work in process of creation that builds a historical account of some air attacks that have caused civilian victims, from 1912 to the present. The piece is being built from the research, a process in which participants participated in the workshop of Madrid 45 (Visual Arts Program of the Community of Madrid) that Cristina Lucas gave last April, as well as a group of students from the Faculty of Geography and History of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. 

Take a tour with Maria in Madrid to discover more!