ARCO opens tomorrow. The New York Times’s In Transit travel blog is running a short look at Just Madrid, a new satellite fair to the 29-year-old classic Spanish art fair:
But the sheer size of ARCO has posed a problem for emerging artists and galleries who could get lost on so crowded a stage or simply can’t afford the steep entrance fees. Just Madrid, a new fair at a smaller scale, hopes to rectify the situation. […]
The well-known independent curator Virginia Torrente who heads up Just Madrid hopes the fair will spark a revival of Spain’s contemporary art scene, which she believes has languished over the past 15 years. “We have only ourselves to blame,” she said. “We have not been as professional as other European countries. Young Spanish artists have had to go abroad for recognition. There’s room for a smaller satellite fair, which until this point didn’t exist in Spain.”
For the inaugural show, she selected 13 Spanish and 12 foreign galleries. Buyers will find reasonable prices, ranging from 500 to 20,000 euros, with the median at about 5,000 euros. “We’re not looking for profits,” Ms. Torrente added, “but rather to attract young collectors and to get younger artists the attention they deserve.”
A New Madrid Art Fair Goes Small (In Transit/New York Times)
