From an art perspective, Madrid is well known for its leading museums, mostly Prado and Reina Sofia. However, Madrid is much more than that. Beside its leading museums, beautiful architecture, atmosphere, night life and warm people, Madrid has lot to offer for the art lovers.
Galleries are spread around the city and mostly around the beautiful neighborhoods of Chueca, Malasaña, Salesas, Letras and Conde Duque. These neighborhoods are inhabited by a mix of artists, designers, gays, musicians etc. or what I call the “creative society”.
I love strolling around in these neighborhoods and finding beautiful places and more than that, I like to discover the galleries there. Now, besides discovering Madrid’s galleries I discovered a nice way to enjoy the art and meet the cool people. Madrid’s galleries offer at the end of each month the Desayunarte from 11:00 till 14:00, when you can enjoy a small breakfast while admiring art.
“Desayuno” is the Spanish word for breakfast and “Arte” as you can assume is for art. Each end of the month on Saturday, the galleries in Chueca, Malasaña and Letras open their doors and their new exhibitions while they serve a quick breakfast, cava and sweets. On May 31 I found myself strolling in these small streets getting into the galleries, enjoying beautiful art with nice people and cava for a good morning.
One of my favorite exhibitions was The Sky is Blue in Some Other Way: A Diagram of a Possible Misreading at Galería Elba Benítez. It featured a selection of artists, primarily from Central and Eastern Europe, spanning different generations yet grounded in the shared contemporary traditions of abstract, conceptual and minimal art.
ISTVÁN B. GELLÉR. “The Sky is Blue in Some Other Way and is Big in Some Other Way”, 1972. Silkscreen on paper Courtesy of the artist
I found the Eastern Europe artists creating an aesthetic conceptual art. Though sometimes misunderstood by the public, conceptual art is an interesting genre that challenges your mind. From this serious exhibition I continued to see the exhibition named stories for two with an impossible ending….and other Magritte-esque realities at Galería de arte Rafael Pérez Hernando…and if there is one thing that I like to see it is amusing art. I believe that art has many roles and one of them is to make you smile, laugh or just be happy without thinking too much. The irony in the works about the daily situations, in the art world and in our lives made me laugh.
I saw more works and more galleries and had a great time seeing art in a more welcoming way, on a beautiful sunny day with nice people. Next time you are in Madrid, try to visit the Desayunoarte.
If you looking for more tips about the Art scene in Madrid, feel free to contact me.
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- Source: Galería Elba Benítez
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- Source: Galería Elba Benítez
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- Source: Galería Elba Benítez
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- Source: Galería Elba Benítez
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- Source: Galería Elba Benítez