Art Fair // Exhibition Highlights from ARCOmadrid 2017 and Parallel Programmes

Article past Candice Nembhard in Berlin // Tuesday, Mar. 07, 2017

Organised by IFEMA, ARCOmadrid presented the 36th edition of their International Contemporary Art Fair. The renowned fair hosted works from 200 galleries, ranging across 27 countries, in the centre of the Castilian uppercase. Every bit well as the appearance of major galleries featuring the work of Anish Kapoor, Jenny Holzer and Ai WeiWei, special attending was given to smaller and upcoming galleries.

Berlin Art Link ARCOmadrid Drop City

Eleanor Wright: 'On Some Motifs (paravent)', 2017, birdseye maple, brass and Nadia Hebson: 'Ramberg/Turbeville Part 2', 2017, digital impress, lath, acryllic, gesso, 'Parallel Manipulation revisited', 2017, oil on sail, 'Amo', 2017, oil on sail // Photograph Renato Ghiazza courtesy of Drop Urban center

Beyond 5 days, a selection of international art presentations, performances and installations took place, flanked by this yr's special partnership with Argentine republic, who were welcomed as the official guests of the effect. Inaugurated through the Argentina Plataforma/ARCO programme, twelve Buenos Aires-based galleries and artists were selected by director and curator, Inés Katzenstein to have part in the platform's curated program. In addition to the 164 galleries in the General Program, the 'Openings' section, curated by Juan Canela and Stefanie Hessler, presented xviii young international galleries with a maximum existence of seven years, and the 'Dialogues' section brought forth 12 international galleries. These specially-curated platforms allowed the 'Openings' galleries to showcase undiscovered new work from a selection of exciting young galleries effectually the world, as well every bit allowing each 'Dialogues' gallery to present two artists, forming a dialogue between their works.

Special mentions extend towards immature 'Openings' galleries such every bit MAMA Gallery (Los Angeles), who featured paintings by Mattea Perrotta, as well as Newcastle and Dusseldorf-based gallery Drop City, who were announced as the Winner of the opening ceremony this yr. Drop City presented two artists Eleanor Wright and Nadia Hebson, whose berth and exhibition was regarded as one of the best in the programme's opening. In 'Dialogues', highlights included Mexico City's LABOR, who presented works by Irene Kopelman and Jorge Satorre, and New York-based Tanya Bonakdar, who exhibited Tomas Saraceno'southward architectural spider spider web artworks.

With a wide array of artists making their debut at ARCOmadrid, this year'south fair programme was too supplemented past several stand-out exhibitions throughout the city. Here are the v Berlin Fine art Link exhibition favourites from Madrid this yr.

Berlin Art Link Donna Huanca Arcomadrid Travesia Cuatro

Donna Huanca: 'Porthleven', 2016, Oil, acrylic and pigment on digital print on canvas 190 10 285 cm // Courtesy of the Artist and Travesia Cuatro

Donna Huanca at Travesia Cuatro

'Lengua de Bartonlina Sisa' is the beginning Spanish exhibition by Chicago-born artist Donna Huanca. Afterward successful shows in London and Berlin, Huanca continued her work with raw materials and the art of move, through motif colours of blue and majestic. Exploring territories related to the homo torso, including gender, image and infinite, Huanca'south performers—painted caput to toe—gracefully moved among the installed work. Their camouflaged bodies represented the overlap in art disciplines that the artist practices: her mixed-media approach, combining sculpture, performance and painting, ultimately points to fragmented ideas around identity. Although brightly toned, the charred and ripped synthetics requite a slightly dark and personal layer to the work.

Berlin Art Link Ignacio Uriarte Arcomadrid 2017

Ignacio Uriarte: 'Random Diamonds' in Tipología de dibujo escultórico, 2017 // Courtesy of the Artist and Nogueras Blanchard

Ignacio Uriarte at Nogueras Blanchard

Soft and patient are the words that spring to mind when discussing Igancio Uriarte's new exhibition, 'Tipología de dibujo escultórico'. The drove showcases a serial of drawings that undertake sculptural dimensions as function of their limerick. Through thinly-lined strokes and repeatedly folded pieces of paper, each work represents shapes; both the rule and precision of its composition too as their inherent arbitrary nature. Through the use of light and shadow, the exhibition considers the filling and emptying space, and its effect on estimation. Due to the 3D-similar structure of the piece of work, audience participation and inspection was highly encouraged and, in fact, integral to understanding the incredible adroitness, pattern and imagination that went into the curation of this work.

Bruce Conner at Museo Reina Sofia

'It's all True' is the offset major survey of Bruce Conner's work in 16 years. The retrospective gathered over 250 works spanning across his five decade career. His early on raw material-based installations in the 1960s juxtaposed his digital and media-based practices in the mid-late 2000s. Over the years, his work gained notoriety due its cyclical themes of American violence, politics and customs issues. Every bit his work frequently inverse medium, the exhibition is a full examination of Conner's role in challenging genre and manner. Initially shown in San Francisco and New York's Museum of Modern Art, the exhibition now has its residency in Madrid.

Julian Rosefeldt at Helga de Alvear

Since the 1990s, Julian Rosefeldt has been producing motion-picture show and video installations looking into stereotypes, cliches and repetitive patterns inside communities. 'Deep Gilded' is office of the the anthology serial 'The Scorpion's Sting', which drew inspiration from the surrealist work of Luis Buñuel. As though it were a response, 'Deep Gilt' re-imagines Buñuel's 1930 moving picture 'L'historic period d'Or' and invites viewers into a world of female sexual supremacy, where male desire is overshadowed. Looking into the heart of German society, the film produced four photo installations highlighting the underground globe of sexual and personal exploration. Through the complexity of multi-screen installations, Rosefeldt'due south motion-picture show carries with information technology theatre, satire and a crude commentary on everyday life.

Berlin Art Link Manal Al Dowayan ARCOmadrid 2017

Manal Al Dowayan: 'The Boys', 2015, paint and silkscreen ink on canvas and copper // Courtesy of the Artist and Sabrina Amrani

Manal Al Dowayan at Sabrina Amrani

Saudi artist Manal Al Dowayan's first solo show in Espana, 'And I, Volition I Forget?', is a beautiful collection looking into personal retentivity. The chrome slides presented are taken from her begetter's life in Saudi Arabia and his journey to the United States. Through these static images, Dowayan tells dynamic stories, navigating her own life through the vision of a loved one. The title of the exhibition takes guidance from her father'south Alzheimer's diagnosis and his growing inability to recognise the people, places or time within the images. In some style, the exhibition deals with formlessness and the credibility of the invisible. The exhibition is a wonderful overlap of ethnic, social and personal histories.

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