Mediterrenian takes center stage in this edition, and ARCO Madrid could not miss a strong representation from Alicante. The fair anchors Spain as the largest gathering of contemporary art, opening its doors with more than 200 galleries from 36 countries, showcasing diverse voices that will be on display until the end of the week. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: event organizers)
Dozens of creatives from the province will participate, underscoring the broad spectrum of Alicante’s presence in contemporary art through a variety of galleries. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: event organizers)
Mira Bernabéu returns to ARCO not only as a gallery owner in Madrid, but also as an artist. The show also features contributions by Teresa Ortega and Daniel G. Andújar, who, while based in Alicante, present their work under the auspices of Angels Barcelona and T20. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: event organizers)
Christina de Middel, a photographer with roots in the region, reappears alongside Juana de Aizpuru and Rosana Antolí, continuing a collaborative path with The Ryder. Ana Esteve, represented by Luis Adelantado, and Luisa Pastor in Nordés, bring a selection of pieces, with works by Isidro Blasco, Ponce and Robles, Alberto Feijóo, Inma Femenía, and Jorge López de Valencia contributing to the scene. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: event organizers)
Mira Bernabéu returns to ARCO as an artist, a facet rarely shown at the fair in recent years. Her projects will be presented through Fernando Pradilla in Madrid and Rosa Santos in Valencia, featuring works from the same series across both locales. The body of work includes a sequence of photographs and a set of collages that reveal different facets of the same theme. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: event organizers)
As a gallery presence at ARCO, a wide array of artists with varied backgrounds is represented, yet many pieces gravitate around the image itself. Este Ferrer, Patricia Gómez, María Jesús González, Pepe Espaliú, Bleda and Rosa, and Alicante’s own Ana Teresa Ortega and Daniel G. Andújar are highlighted among others. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: event organizers)
From Ana Teresa Ortega, a pioneer in combining photography and sculpture and a National Photography Award recipient, the fair features two photo sculptures drawn from her long career. The gallery notes emphasize black-and-white imagery and iron sculptures drawn from archival material. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: interview with gallery owner)
Two works by Daniel G. Andújar are on display, including a drawing made with a digital robot he programmed and a 3D-printed sculpture shown at his latest Virreina exhibition in Barcelona. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: exhibition notes)
The Almoradí-born artist also appears at ARCO with Angels Barcelona and T20. In the first presentation, early sketches from the settlement plan that birthed a Mediterranean course patent are shown, an installation created for Es Baluard de Mallorca.
The exhibition includes two videos with T20: Soldier Husband’s Song and Town Wind, 1937, reflecting on the Albatera concentration camp, voiced by poet Miguel Hernández. Another work, Butterfly Funnel Camino Real, explores colonialism, migration, and trade policies at the border, contrasting those historical currents with others in the course of history. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: artist notes)
Cristina de Middel, head of Magnum Agency, returns to Madrid with Juana de Aizpuru gallery, presenting photographs from the Milan del Toboso series. The photographer offers a pointed examination of Spain’s national presence during moments of tension and political complexity. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: gallery press release)
The show also features a piece titled water retention that Rosana Antolí and Ryder frame within a broader study of hydrofeminism, a line of inquiry she has developed in recent years. (ARCO Madrid, attribution: artist statement)
For the second year running, Luisa Pastor is on view at ARCO. Nordés presents a collection in the Goodwill 233/4K series, featuring pieces crafted from real gold at 233/4 carats, a detail that has drawn attention at international fairs. The project benefited from the Alicante City Council’s cultural and artistic development program.
The curator notes that Isidro Blasco, together with Ponce and Robles, introduced several photographic sculptures to the fair. These works, arranged like a ladder, overlay images in a very abstract way, complemented by aerial views of Manhattan taken from Empire State—three-dimensional and richly layered.
There are high hopes for the show, with Blasco expressing happiness to be part of ARCO again in an edition titled, It Looks Like We’re the Same as Before, a nod to fairs that showcase the best of the art world and offer opportunities to acquire works.
Ana Esteve is currently presenting video art at the Thyssen Museum in Madrid, a project described as an audiovisual fan cam (2022) in the Luis Adelantado gallery. The piece engages with a genre that mirrors how fans capture and circulate performances on social media.
Esteve Reig brings together various teenagers who gather on weekends to rehearse and record dances on their phones, planning to upload the clips later. The artist uses the vertical video format and slow motion to offer a perspective that distances the viewer from the rapid consumption typical of online video.
Alberto Feijóo and Inma Femenía appear under the Jorge López gallery, which debuted their work at the Madrid fair last year.