Now in its 45th edition, the Madrid Arch follows its own rhythm

The 45th edition of Arco Madrid, which runs until Sunday 8 March, opened under unseasonably cloudy Madrid skies – a departure from the mood for a show usually associated with the brightness of early spring. In Madrid IFEMA, the city’s vast exhibition and conference centre, a second surprise awaits.

Despite the gathering of 211 galleries from 30 countries, the exhibition did not immediately return to its usual lively atmosphere. At the entrance to the first booth, waiters lined up with champagne flutes and trays of egg tarts, ready to greet collectors and distinguished guests. But by 10 a.m., the aisles were still relatively uncrowded and unusually navigable. “It was a little empty, which surprised me,” said one exhibitor, who requested anonymity. “We’ve been coming to Arco for 20 years, and this morning it was extremely slow.”

Some mentioned that a competitive breakfast event might have diverted VIP guests’ attention. Others speculate whether the current geopolitical climate is holding back collectors from the Gulf. But Arko always marches to his own pace, and by noon the aisles are packed with tourists.

“We haven’t sold many yet, but I’m sure we’ll get a return in the coming days,” said Chantal Crousel, founder of a Paris gallery of the same name. art news. “It’s a slightly slower show. There’s a lot to see and people really take the time to look for it. When they experience that initial spark, they tend to step back and validate it first.” The gallery has participated in every Arco show since its founding in 1982, building a strong network of Spanish collectors over the decades that keep it coming back year after year.

Crusell’s booth features a series of untitled works by Rirkrit Tiravanija and Wade Guyton, as well as an abstract self-portrait by Abraham Cruzvillegas made from newspaper clippings, postcards and tickets in red acrylic, reflecting the gallery’s long-standing commitment to conceptual practice. “I love this show so much, mainly because it’s held in Madrid, a city I love. The first day felt like an enthusiastic joyride, seen with a connoisseur’s eye,” said Crussel. “People here feel more open, more curious, and have a genuine desire to be surprised.”

Athens-based Callirrhoë Gallery participated in the fair for the second time, in Arco’s “Opening. New Gallery” section. Founded by Olympia Tzortzi in late 2020, the gallery has slowly increased its number of art fairs, exhibiting at the Liste Art Fair in Basel, Switzerland, and the Independent Art Fair in New York. “I can say that this show feels more relaxed compared to Basel or the United States,” Zorzi said. “It shows in the architecture: the booths are big, the aisles are wide. People have time to look at the work; you don’t feel pressured.”

Callirrhoë presents a solo exhibition by Athens-born artist Janis Rafa, who had a solo exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art EMST in Athens last year. Composed of 10 saddles and 5 pairs of riding boots, the installation explores the entanglement between the human and non-human worlds, specifically the relationship between humans and horses. The work can be purchased as an installation for €28,000 ($32,500) or individually. Two works by the artist on the stand were sold on the first day of the fair for €7,500 ($8,700) each.

“Over the past few years, one thing has become clear: many artists are looking back to traditional techniques, even traditional techniques. Rather than rushing towards the future, they are reconnecting with the past and drawing inspiration from it to create something that is distinctly contemporary,” says Arco co-director Maribel López.

She also noticed a generational shift among collectors. “We are seeing strong interest from younger generations.” The fair recently partnered with MACBA Studio, an initiative of Barcelona’s Museum of Contemporary Art aimed at museum audiences under 35 years old. “Hopefully all of them will eventually become collectors, although about half of them may already be collecting.”

However, Lopez believes the more important shift involves the galleries themselves. “Two or three years later, we see how they move from the open department to the general program department, and to me, that’s part of the success.”

The opening section, curated by Rafa Barber, Anissa Touati and Cristina Anglada, features 19 galleries that have been in business for eight years or less. Method Gallery, which has spaces in Mumbai and New Delhi, hopes to expand its reach in Europe and raise the profile of Indian and Pakistani artists. “Last year we met Portuguese and Latin American collectors in Arco, Lisbon. We thought it would be a good idea to come to Madrid to reconnect with them,” said gallery founder Sahil Arora.

Method Gallery’s Opening booth displays a hammer work by Sajid Wajid. The head of the hammer is shaped like a small house. The article talks about “bulldozer justice,” a controversial practice in parts of India in which local authorities demolish houses and properties (often belonging to members of minority communities) as a purported punitive action following accusations of rioting or criminal activity, often without due process of justice.

In addition to its appeal to emerging galleries, one of ARCO’s biggest draws remains this year’s “Introduction | Latin American Art” section, curated by José Esparza Chong Cuy. The program brings together 11 projects by Latin American artists and galleries. “There’s still a lot to be discovered,” Lopez said of the decision to keep the section open for the past 15 years. “It would be easy to look elsewhere, but the relationships with (galleries) throughout Latin America have been over a decade in the making. I’m not going to rush into the next big thing — I think what we’re doing here is pretty special.”

Exhibitors also reported strong participation from Latin American collectors. Mor Charpentier, a French gallery with a branch in Bogotá, has staged group exhibitions by artists, many with ties to Latin America, including Teresa Margolles, Carlos Motta, Paz Errázuriz, Guadalupe Maravilla and Daniel Otero Torres. The gallery sold approximately 15 works in various categories, with prices ranging from €10,000 to €60,000 ($11,600 to $70,000).

“We have loyal Spanish and Latin American collectors coming here. Many people come specifically to see us. Madrid is an important hub for us,” says Arthur Gruson, director of Mor Charpentier. “It seems like here we have the ability to show edgier, more experimental work than at other art fairs, perhaps because of the lower financial risk.”

Piera Ravnikar’s eponymous gallery in Ljubljana, Slovenia, also describes Madrid as more experimental and open to emerging and less normative practices. For her, Arco provided an opportunity to reconnect with Spanish collectors she first met in Basel, while also testing ambitious displays.

This year she invited Nevena Aleksovski and Maja Babič Košir to collaborate on a site-specific project. The resulting installation, composed of paintings, ceramics and photographs suspended from the wooden structure, pays homage to the women involved in the anti-fascist movement during World War II, including Coghill’s grandmother Milena. title Letter from the South: MilenaPriced at €29,000 ($33,600), the work weaves together personal memory and collective history.

“There’s always a risk in showing site-specific installations because you never know what you’re going to get,” says Ravnica. “Sure, it would be nice to sell, but the goal is to highlight the collaboration between two artists. In a time when society is so focused on ‘me, myself and me,’ it’s important to present a harmonious alliance—two creators sharing authorship in a truly horizontal way.”

One of the stars of this year’s general program appears to be Mallorcan artist Miquel Barceló, who is exhibiting at Thaddaeus Ropac, where it was reported that “the first day was very positive, with around half the stands sold in the afternoon”. Barceló also exhibits Elvira González, one of ARCO’s historical participants, located at the north entrance of the fair. “We are very pleased with our first sale,” a gallery representative said, without providing details. Barcelona also takes over the stall of Madrid daily national newspaper to mark the publication’s 50th anniversary. Titled “diary of elpinta,” the exhibition includes 50 newsprint works.

It’s hard not to raise the issue of the VAT protests that took place in Spain in early February. Spanish galleries and art professionals have mobilized to denounce the relatively high value-added tax on art sales, arguing that it makes the local market less competitive compared with other international centers. Lopes, Arco’s co-director, declined to comment when asked whether the issue would affect sales at the fair, instead replying that she supported the VAT protests and that lowering VAT would “make it easier to sell[artists’]work.”

Vanessa Carlos, founder of the Carlos/Ishikawa gallery in London, said she was unaware of the protests. “The VAT in the UK is about 20% and in Brazil it’s about 40%,” she points out. At the fair itself, however, the issue seemed largely absent from the discussion, overshadowed by the pace of sales and the international collectors flowing through the aisles.