ARCOmadrid 2017 gains relevance in the market for the quality of its art proposals

From 22 to 26 February a new edition of ARCOmadrid will take place in the Spanish capital, transforming it into a magnet for collectors, gallery owners, artists and art professionals from around the world.  The growing trust in ARCOmadrid among galleries with the presentation of high quality works and proposals, will form the backbone of this edition and confirm the market’s confidence in the market on this 36th edition of the Fair, which has gained in relevance and renown on the current international art scene. Thus, the International Contemporary Art Fair, organised by IFEMA, will see an increase in the quality and importance of the participating galleries’ projects, following the rigorous selection and standards required by the Organising Committee and the programme curators. This trust is equally reflected in the presence of larger exhibition spaces reserved for the galleries, in the decision to participate in two of the Fair’s programmes at the same time, in the growing contribution of more cutting-edge proposals, and in the presentation of one or two artists from different settings. Indicators that position the Fair as one of the most interesting international events, which will result in the return of collectors and professionals to the Fair.  

ARCOmadrid 2017 will take place in pavilions 7 and 9 of IFEMA with a total of 200 galleries from 27 countries, 164 of which form part of the General Programme, in addition to the curated sections made up of: Argentina Plataforma / ARCO, with a selection of 12 galleries; Dialogues, with 12 and Opening, with 18.

As its major trademark, ARCOmadrid once again stands out for its high proportion of international gallery participation, almost 40% of the Fair, with programmes revolving around individual or dialogue presentations, placing the emphasis on the ARCOmadrid’s contribution as a space for the discovery of and understanding of the artists’ work. Along the same lines, around ten large format art pieces are distributed throughout ARCOmadrid under the Special Projects category, further confirming the galleries’ belief in presenting ambitious and cutting-edge projects.

For its part, international participation remains within the same parameters as in previous editions, with a percentage of foreign galleries that reaches 66.5% of the total. Once again, the participation of Latin America stands out -constituting 40% of the international segment-, with a total of 41 galleries from 9 countries joined on this edition by the special participation of Argentina as the guest country, with the support of the Argentine Ministry for Culture and artBA, consolidating ARCOmadrid as a Latin benchmark in Europe. 

GALLERIES AND ARTISTS

ARCOmadrid emerges as a mosaic, a fair of fairs, in which the programmes designed respond to a market evolution and adaptation. Its focus on the presentation of solo and dialogue projects makes both the discovery and re-discovery of artists possible. In addition to the SOLO/DUO’s, there will also be other inter-generational dialogues throughout the whole fair.

ARCOmadrid will once again enjoy its main axis, the General Programme, made up of 164 galleries selected by the Organising Committee, among which the return of galleries such as Lisson Gallery –with Ai Weiwei and Anish Kapoor; Hauser & Wirth -Louise Bourgeois and Jenny Holzer-; Michel Rein -Maria Thereza Alves and Jordi Colomer-; Denise René Galerie –Victor Vasarely and Yaacov Agam-, in addition to other important galleries that uphold their interest in ARCOmadrid, including Casas Riegner -José Antonio Suarez Londoño-; Chantal Crousel -Jean-Luc Moulene-; Esther Schipper –Thomas Demand and Ceal Floyer-; Jocelyn Wolff –Franz Ehrhard Walter and Francisco Tropa-  Mai 36 Galerie -Remy Zaugg-, particularly stands out.

The new Dialogues programme, with the collaboration of the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID), will include 12 galleries selected by María de Corral, Lorena Martínez de Corral and Catalina Lozano, whose stands will generate new contents as well as the in-depth presentation of artists such as Roman Ondak and Robert Breer –gb agency-, Ariel Schlesinger –Dvir- and Jessica Rankin -Carlier Gebauer-.  

The Opening section, focused on galleries with a maximum existence of seven years will be made up of 18 galleries, with two artists per stand, selected by Juan Canela and Stefanie Hessler. Among others, the artists Carme Nogueira –Kubik Gallery- and Luis Lázaro Matos –Madragoa-, will participate.

One of the Fair’s main protagonists will be Argentina Plataforma / ARCO, made up of a total of 12 Argentine galleries and 23 artists selected by Inés Katzenstein; from the internationally renowned Alberto Greco; Eduardo Stupia and Mirtha Dermisache, to others yet to be discovered by the public, including Diego Bianchi, Pablo Accinelli and Sol Pipkin.

In addition, the Dialogues section will have a special bond with Argentina thanks to the participation of some Argentine artists selected by Inés Katzenstein, in coordination with the curatorial team, such as Irene Kopelman –Labor-; Eduardo Navarro and Julio Le Parc –Nara Roesler-; Tomás Saraceno and Analia Saban –Tanya Bonakdar-, and David Lamelas –Jan Mot-, as well as Victor Grippo -Alexander and Bonin- and Jorge Macchi - Peter Kilchmann-.  

The extensive Argentine presence is evident throughout the Fair with artists from this country represented by both national and international galleries such as Leandro Erlich; Eduardo Basualdo; Claire de Santa Coloma; Guillermo Kuitca; Fabian Marcaccio; Sebastián Díaz Morales; Adriana Minoliti; Marie Orensanz; Edgardo Antonio Vigo; Aimée Zito Lema and Mercedes Azpilicueta, among others.