ARCOMadrid the nerve centre of Spanish art

There is a colourful parrot in ARCOMadrid staring sadly at us, seeming to want to question us. For the artist Michele Gabriele it is his inner self-portrait. He does not portray the crises gripping the world, but depicts his own despondency in the face of them; an act of denunciation as powerful as it is intimist against the indifference of the art system and politics towards contemporary dramas, a gash in the golden bubble, the parrot is part of a series of paintings "An Unbothered, Sad and Cringe Parrot" on the stand of the Swiss gallery KALI with quotations between 10,900 and 13,000 Swiss francs. A work that represents a collective sentiment and recontextualises the fair within a broader scenario. In spite of the less than reassuring geopolitical context, ARCOMadrid (4-8 March) offered a 45th edition in great splendour where it welcomed 211 galleries from 30 different countries and no less than 95,000 visitors, a number out of scale when compared with Italian fairs, a number that tells of the cultural impact of the appointment on Spanish society, beyond the restricted art system.

Dalla serie “Portrait of a Parrot. An Unbothered, Sad and Cringe Parrot. Indifferent to its Context”. 2025, di Michele Gabriele, acrilico su tela, in vendita alla Galleria KALI di Lucerna

ARCO has always been the realm of great female gallerists, who, by the way, founded it in 1980. At the fair, iconic figures such as Helga de Alvear and Juana de Aizpuru, are missed, but the baton of this splendidly matriarchal system is in good hands and among the heirs is certainly Elba Benitez. Great attention is paid to her stand in which national and international talents coexist, an untitled sculpture by Miroslaw Balka welcomes visitors at the entrance to the stand: balls for psychomotor training recovered in the 1990s and strung one on top of the other until they reach the height of the Polish artist: they speak to us of memory and its persistence, 100,000 euros the request. But the attention goes, above all, to Oriol Vilanova, a 45-year-old Catalan artist who will represent Spain at the next Venice Biennale, Villanova has an obsession: obsolete postcards! He collects them in flea markets, catalogues them, uses them and reuses them in his work, telling us about the perpetuation of images in our culture and how memory is transmitted. One of his installations stands out on the stand, a blue jacket with postcards in its pocket, the title is 'old master' and, in fact, the postcards depict masterpieces of art history: 10,000 euros the selling price.

ARCO is also the privileged portal for Latin American galleries in Europe, among the many stands out A Gentil Carioca, a Brazilian gallery that on 23 March will open a pop-up space in Rome as a guest of Rhinoceros Gallery with a solo exhibition of the painter Miguel Afa entitled 'The time that lives in me'. In this exhibition, the artist's style merges with subjects encountered during the Rome residency. The stand in Madrid is, on the other hand, dedicated to Kelton Campos Fausto a non-binary artist who draws much of his iconography from the Yuruba culture, his highly appreciated canvases range from 15,000 to 25,000 dollars. Also among the international galleries present was the newly Milanese Thaddaeus Ropac which showed several masterpieces, including a very textured painting by Miguel Barcelò 'PAR TERRE' selling for €210,000, a monumental canvas by George Baselitz fetching over €1.5 million and a Anthony Gormley 'humanoid' sculpture at €500,000. Among the artists who stood out the most, also on social media, is Kubra Khademi with her provocative works in the Belgian gallery Eric Mouchet; her project "bread love and freedom" portrays powerful women such as Ursula von der Leyen, Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton nude, in pornographic poses or holding weapons, many sales and prices up to €25,000 for the larger formats. Among the many Spanish artists obviously present at the fair was the story of Amparo de Sota, between 15,500 and 85,000 euros his prices, at Galeria Alegria in Barcelona. Sold out already in the first few days fair also driven by many institutional acquisitions. Daughter of an important Madrid family, she has always been on the margins of the art system, preferring an intimist practice away from the market. Her elegant textile works represent a bond with her mother and grandmother who taught her how to sew, and the subjects of her canvases often refer to architecture, literature and her studies in Arabic philology.

“Old Masters (Klee)”, 2026, di Oriol Vilanova, giacca blu e 120 cartoline, 86 x 35 x 17 cm. In vendita a 10.000 euro alla galleria Elba Benitez di Madrid

Lia Rumma presents a bargain stand with several masterpieces on display including a large tapestry byWilliam Kentridge from the 'Porter' series selling for 260,000 euros. One of the artists of the moment Wael Shawky is present with a series of vase-sculptures in glass and porcelain, the latter made at the Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte offered between 140,000 and 180,000. Very topical even if dated 1995 is a photographic work by Sherin Neshat depicting a veiled Iranian woman holding a rifle, 180,000 euro the asking price. Ettore Spalletti's works including a "Scatola di Colore", a geometric alabaster sculpture offered at €140,000 and two "paessaggi" valued at €200,000 and €220,000 respectively, one of which was purchased from an Italian collection. There will also be a wall installation by Rosa Barba, 'Off My Mind' selling for €100,000. The Italian artist herself will be the star of the gallery exhibition in Milan next April.
Multigenerational is the joint stand of Massimo Minini and Francesca Minini. Next to famous names such as Sheila Hicks and Peter Halley, two small paintings by Jonathan Monk from the series 'If in Doubt', a tribute to Salvo in which white trees stand out in relief amidst colourful landscapes, stand out. They are almost a provocation to the market: in fact, their price does not depend on the size or year of creation but on the number of saplings on the canvas. 3.000 euro the painting with one tree, 6,000 euro the one with two, even if smaller in size. In general, the Italian galleries were very happy with the quality of the public but less so with the sales achieved, a trend also found in other galleries. The Spanish market is burdened by a 21% VAT on artworks that is now among the highest in Europe, a major competitive handicap compared to its neighbours (Portugal 6%, France 5.5% and Italia 5%). Arco's director Maribel Lopez also supports exhibitors' protests on this issue.

Returning to the Italians at the fair, there were also many collectors from our country. In the forefront Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo who inaugurated with Fundación Sandretto her solo exhibition Justin Caguiat 'Zodiac Machine' in the church of Santa Ana y la Esperanza. The Milan-based Marval Collection honoured their presence at the fair with several works acquired, including a painting by Jose Maria Sicilia from Nagueras Blanchard and one by Leyla Yenirce from Capitain Petzel. Very active Chiara Margiotta and Federico Marinoni, collectors from Bergamo who supported the Italian galleries on the move by acquiring a painting by Francis Offman from P420 and a photograph by Pamela Diamante from Gilda Lavia.