Galleries, collectors and other contemporary art players will be travelling from all over the world to Madrid, the capital of Spain, for ARCOmadrid_ 2010, the International Contemporary Art Fair, from February 17th through 21st. Given its growing influence, this annual fair is one of the world's major art market events and turns Madrid into an exciting world capital for contemporary art.
The most noteworthy new introduction at the upcoming edition of the art fair is the focus on Los Angeles, one of the world's epicentres for art right now, as the fair's special invited guest. In its PANORAMA program ARCOmadrid_ 2010 is inviting a city, instead of a country as was the case before, and L.A. was chosen for the dynamic creative diversity that has earned it a place at the top of the art market ranking. This is the beginning of a number of editions of the fair that will bring to Madrid the very best of what's happening in contemporary art worldwide, focusing not only on countries as it has done up until now, but also on major regions or urban centres in a globalised world that is increasingly more diverse and plural, overstepping national boundaries.]]>
With a selection of 17 galleries, curated by Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles, the visiting public will be given an overview in the Panorama: Los Angeles of a sample of artists and galleries demonstrating "a huge variety of works in terms of technique, genre and leaning", as the curators point out. Works created by "artists coming from different generations, backgrounds and degrees of fame" in a selection that is primarily looking for "vitality in all shapes and forms and trying to be as faithful as possible to the idea of offering a panorama of the city", despite the fact that L.A. "constantly surprises us and that it is impossible to come up with any totalising viewpoint", explained Kuramitsu and Miles.
L.A., a city for art
"As
a city for art, Los Angeles has become, and continues to be, a key
centre for production, distribution and discourse at a time when
centres are increasingly losing control and lacking in any kind of
dominant school or movement", the curators tell us. The movements that once defined cities, "have been replaced here by a plurality and promiscuity of activity that forecloses a monolithic identity".
In point of truth, and as one will see at ARCOmadrid_ 2010, "though
the history of art in L.A. is unquestionably shorter than that of many
other cities, it is nevertheless dense and complex, mirroring an art
scene that has reached adulthood -and we are not just speaking of
artists, but also of its schools and museums, its alternative spaces,
patrons and galleries- at a time of transition between the end of the
modern age and postmodernism, determined by its own diversity and the
plurality of an art practice that is predicated on the big changes that
took place in the arts, academia and society as a whole".
More specifically, one might well say that this 21st century metropolis "has
an artistic culture with a huge cross-generational wealth, largely
thanks to its influential position over the last few decades, its
network of private art school and academies, as well as the art
departments in public and private universities", as the curators of Panorama: Los Angeles put it.
From West Side to Mid-City
This huge diversity is reflected in a selection of galleries that
ranges from some of LA's most veteran spaces to others that opened just
a few years ago. A cross-section sampling the whole city, from the West
Side to Mid-City and Downtown. "Although the selection of artists in Panorama: Los Angeles cannot be said to be exhaustive, nor would you say that it is reductionist", claim Kuramitsu and Miles. "Our
goal was to present diverse works in terms of media, genre and leaning,
produced by artists of equally diverse origins, generations and fame". A project primarily based on galleries but which, according to the curators, has its eyes firmly set on artists, so that "the section dedicated to LA at ARCOmadrid_ 2010 includes big galleries, but also showcases big artists".
In fact the process of selection undertaken by the curators, "focused
on a search for vitality in all shapes and forms and tried to be as
faithful as possible to the idea of offering a panorama of the city
that constantly surprises us and is impossible to sum up in any
totalising viewpoint".
Demonstrating the whole
diversity of Los Angeles, the biggest and most populated city in
California, ARCOmadrid_ 2010 will be hosting the galleries 1301PE, ACME GALLERY and STEVE TURNER, from the East-West quarter and PERES PROJECTS and CHERRY AND MARTIN from Mid City, in the dynamic La Cienega Design Quarter, a magnet for lovers of art and design.
Also travelling to Madrid, this time from Chinatown in LA, are THOMAS SOLOMON, CHINA ART OBJECTS GALLERIES, KATHRYN BRENNAN GALLERY, THE HAPPY LION and REDLING FINE ART. And coming from the mythical neighbourhood of Venice is L.A. LOUVER while Beverly Hills is represented by MARGO LEAVIN GALLERY and REGEN PROJECTS.
Visitors
to the art fair will also come away with a good idea of the vitality of
the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, which has countless thriving art
centres like Culver City, in western Los Angeles county and the
headquarters of the US branch of SUSANNE VIELMETTER -which
also has a gallery in Berlin and has already exhibited at ARCOmadrid on
several occasions. Furthermore, rounding off the selection made by Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles are the galleries from Santa Monica, ROSAMUND FELSEN GALLERY, SHOSHANA WAYNE and CHRISTOPHER GRIMES GALLERY. In fact Christopher Grimes has been a regular at ARCOmadrid over the last few years.
Los Angeles takes over the street of Madrid
ARCOmadrid's cultural programme oversteps the boundaries of the
exhibition centre itself, because, similarly to other years, during the
month of February the city of Madrid is a hotbed of exhibitions,
performances and other cultural events focused on the fair's invited
guest, this year the city of Los Angeles.
A programme coordinated by the writer George Stolz together with the ARCOmadrid team, and curated by Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles,
will add to the vision of LA offered by art galleries. The Museo
Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Matadero Madrid, Las
Arquerías de Nuevos Ministerios and Instituto Cervantes are some of the
cultural centres and museums which will be hosting various shows and
other art events from Los Angeles during ARCOmadrid.
ARCOmadrid_ 2010, a big event for the art market
Together with Panorama: Los Angeles,
around two hundred galleries and almost three thousand top drawer
artists will make the fair a good mirror of the latest tendencies in
contemporary art. The work on view will undoubtedly reflect the
existing plethora of languages, supports and expression, ranging from
painting to performance, not forgetting sculpture, installation,
digital art and more emerging creative expressions.
Without
abandoning the moderate and measured approach it adopted last year,
ARCOmadrid_ 2010 will give collectors and other players a chance to
discover the best new art from Spain and worldwide. Together with the
galleries exhibiting in the core General Programme, the art fair also
lends a spotlight to groundbreaking art in its various programmes: Solo Projects, Expanded-Box, CINEMALoop and Performing ARCO.
These curated sections feature projects coming from around thirty
different countries, while also reinforcing the fair as a showcase for
the best and most cutting-edge contemporary art.
The final piece in the art fair is the section ARCO Instituciones,
aimed at publicising the work of public and private organisations
actively supporting the art world through collecting. Moreover,
visitors have a space for art publications, especially contemporary
art, as part of Art Publishers and Magazines.
In parallel with all these sections and programmes is the annual Experts Forum,
now in its eight year, which brings together artists, collectors,
critics, curators, theorists and other players in the art world to
discuss issues on interest. The city of Los Angeles will also feature
strongly in these panels, with "Alternative Approaches to Presenting Art in Los Angeles"directed by Russell Ferguson, chair of the UCLA Department of Art (Los Angeles, USA), as well as the participation of Jorge Pardo, a Cuban-American artist resident in Los Angeles, in "Conversations With Artists".
An
extensive cultural programme rounds off ARCOmadrid_ 2010, the
International Contemporary Art Fair, making it a must visit event for
anyone seriously interested in discovering the latest in contemporary
art.
WEB SITE: http://www.ifema.es/web/ferias/arco/default_i.html
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The streets of this city were once synonymous with peaceful coexistence between Moors, Jews and Christians.
Madrid is brimming with undiscovered treasures for visitors and
residents alike. With its Guided Tours programme, the Madrid
Municipal Tourist Board hopes to introduce growing numbers of people to
the history, art, architecture, gastronomy, literature and legends of
our city.
Discover Madrid's main attractions with this new service in five
languages (Spanish, English, French, Italian and German). EL Patronato de Turismo de Madrid offers
a selection of tours which will unveil for you the secrets, anecdotes
and history of the city in a fun and interesting way. A narrator will
tell you all the little stories about each monument and spot in the
city; you go at the pace you choose accompanied by a professional guide
at all times. Each tour comes with photographs so you can easily
identify all the monuments.
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