{"id":1812305,"date":"2026-03-06T19:46:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T16:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1812305"},"modified":"2026-03-06T19:46:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T16:46:34","slug":"now-in-its-45th-edition-arco-madrid-follows-its-own-measured-tempo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1812305","title":{"rendered":"Now in Its 45th Edition, Arco Madrid Follows Its Own Measured Tempo"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/FM_0892.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe 45th edition of\u00a0Arco Madrid, which runs until Sunday, March 8,\u00a0opened under an unseasonably cloudy Madrile\u00f1o sky\u2014an atmospheric departure for a fair more often associated with early spring brightness. Inside\u00a0IFEMA Madrid, the city\u2019s sprawling exhibition and convention complex, a second surprise awaited.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite bringing together 211 galleries from 30 countries, the fair floor did not immediately hum with its usual intensity. At the entrance to the first booths in sight, waiters and waitresses lined up with trays of champagne glasses and pastel de nata, ready to greet collectors and VIPs. But by 10 am, the aisles remained relatively uncrowded and unusually navigable. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of empty, which surprises me,\u201d said an exhibitor who asked to remain anonymous. \u201cWe have been coming for 20 years to Arco, and this morning proves to be particularly slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSome mentioned a competing breakfast event that may have diverted VIP attention. Others speculated whether the current geopolitical climate had prevented the attendance of collectors from the Gulf. But Arco has always followed its own tempo, and by noon, the aisles were teeming with visitors.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe haven\u2019t sold much yet, but I believe that in the coming days we\u2019ll reap the rewards,\u201d Chantal Crousel, founder an eponymous Paris gallery, told ARTnews<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s a slightly slower fair. There\u2019s a great deal to see, and people really take their time looking. When they experience an initial spark, they tend to step back and verify it first.\u201d The gallery has participated in each edition of\u00a0Arco\u00a0since its founding in 1982, building a strong network of Spanish collectors over the decades that has caused it to return year after year.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn display in Crousel\u2019s booth is a selection of untitled works by\u00a0Rirkrit Tiravanija\u00a0and\u00a0Wade Guyton, alongside an\u00a0abstract self-portrait by Abraham Cruzvillegasmade of newspaper clippings, postcards, and tickets painted in red acrylic, reflecting the gallery\u2019s longstanding commitment to\u00a0conceptually engaged practices. \u201cI enjoy this fair immensely, mostly because it takes place in Madrid\u2014a city I love. The first day feels like an enthusiastic joyride, approached with a connoisseur\u2019s eye,\u201d Crousel said. \u201cPeople here feel more open, more curious, and genuinely eager to be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

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View of Janis Rafa\u2019s installation in Callirrho\u00eb\u2019s booth at Arco Madrid 2026. <\/span>Courtesy Callirrho\u00eb<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tAthens-based gallery Callirrho\u00eb is participating in the fair for the second time, in Arco\u2019s \u201cOpening. New galleries\u201d section. Founded in late 2020 by Olympia Tzortzi, the gallery has slowly ramped up the number of art fairs it does, having shown at the Liste Art Fair in Basel, Switzerland, and Independent in New York. \u201cCompared with Basel or the US, this fair feels more relaxed, I may say.\u201d Tzortzi said. \u201cYou can tell from the architecture: big booths, wide aisles. People have time to look at the works; you don\u2019t feel the pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCallirrho\u00eb has brought a solo project by\u00a0Athens-born artist Janis Rafa, who had a solo exhibition at\u00a0EMST \u2013 National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, last year. The installation, consisting of\u00a010 saddles and 5 pairs of riding boots, explores the entanglements between the human and non-human world, particularly the relationship between humans and horses. The piece could be bought as one installation, priced at \u20ac28,000 ($32,500), or individually. Two works by the artist in the booth sold on the first day of the fair for \u20ac7,500 ($8,700) each.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOver the past few years, one thing has become evident: many artists are looking back to traditional techniques\u2014or even traditional technologies. Instead of rushing toward the future, they are reconnecting with the past and drawing from it to produce something that feels distinctly contemporary,\u201d Arco co-director Maribel L\u00f3pez said.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe has also noticed a generational shift among collectors. \u201cWe have seen strong interest from a younger generation.\u201d The fair recently partnered with MACBA Studio, an initiative at the Museu d\u2019Art Contemporani de Barcelona for patrons of the museum under the age of 35. \u201cThe hope is that all of them will eventually become collectors\u2014though about half of them may already be collecting.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Maribel L\u00f3pez, co-director of Arco Madrid. <\/span>Rodrigo Gatinho\/Courtesy Arco Madrid<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tAccording to L\u00f3pez, the more significant shift, however, concerns the galleries themselves. \u201cAfter two or three years we see how they move from the Opening sector to the General Program sector and that for me is part of the success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCurated by Rafa Barber, Anissa Touati, and Cristina Anglada, the Opening section features 19 galleries in business for eight years or fewer. Method Gallery, which has spaces in Mumbai and New Delhi, hopes to expand its European presence and give visibility to artists from India and Pakistan. \u201cWe met Portuguese and Latin American collectors at Arco Lisbon last year. We thought it would be a good idea to come to Madrid to reconnect with them,\u201d said Sahil Arora, the gallery\u2019s founder.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn Method Gallery\u2019s Opening booth is a work by Sajid Wajid of a hammer with a head shaped like a small house. The piece addresses \u201cbulldozer justice,\u201d a controversial practice in parts of India whereby local authorities demolish homes and properties\u2014often belonging to members of minority communities\u2014allegedly as punitive action following accusations of unrest or criminal activity, frequently without due judicial process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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A sculpture by Sajid Wajid in Method Gallery\u2019s booth.<\/span>Photo Sarah Belmont for ARTnews<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tBeyond its appeal to emerging galleries, one of\u00a0ARCO\u2019s biggest draws continues to be the\u00a0\u201cProfiles | Latin American Art section, which is curated by\u00a0Jos\u00e9 Esparza Chong Cuy this year. The program brings together 11 projects of Latin American artists and galleries. \u201cThere is still so much to discover,\u201d L\u00f3pez said of the decision to keep the section going for the past 15 years. \u201cIt would be easy to look somewhere else, but the relationships with [galleries] across Latin America have been built over more than a decade. I\u2019m not one to rush on to the next big thing\u2014I think what we are doing here is very special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tExhibitors also reported strong engagement from\u00a0Latin American collectors. Mor Charpentier, a French gallery with an outpost in Bogot\u00e1, has a group presentation of several artists, many of whom have ties to Latin America, including Teresa Margolles, Carlos Motta, Paz Err\u00e1zuriz, Guadalupe Maravilla, and Daniel Otero Torres. The gallery sold about 15 works across all categories, with prices ranging from \u20ac10,000\u2013\u20ac60,000 ($11,600\u2013$70,000).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have loyal Spanish and Latin American collectors who come here. Many have made the trip to see us. Madrid is a key hub for us,\u201d said\u00a0Mor Charpentier director Arthur Gruson.<\/strong> \u201cIt seems that here we can afford to show edgier, more experimental works than at other fairs, perhaps because the financial stakes are lower.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nevena Aleksovski\u00a0and\u00a0Maja Babi\u010d Ko\u0161ir\u2019s installation Letters from the South: Milena<\/em>, at Ravnikar\u2019s booth at Arco Madrid 2026. <\/span>Photo Sarah Belmont for ARTnews<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tPiera Ravnikar, whose namesake gallery is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, also described Madrid as more experimental, more open to emerging and less codified practices. For her,\u00a0Arco\u00a0offers a chance to reconnect with Spanish collectors first encountered in Basel, while also testing ambitious presentations.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year, she invited\u00a0Nevena Aleksovski\u00a0and\u00a0Maja Babi\u010d Ko\u0161ir to collaborate for a site-specific project. The resulting installation, composed of drawings, ceramics, and photographs suspended from a wooden structure, pays tribute to women who fought in anti-fascist movements during the World War II, including Milena, Ko\u0161ir\u2019s grandmother. Titled\u00a0Letters from the South: Milena<\/em>, the work, priced at \u20ac29,000 ($33,600), interweaves personal memory and collective history.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s always risky to show a site-specific installation, because you never know what you are going to get,\u201d said Ravnikar. \u201cOf course, it would be nice to sell, but the goal is to highlight the collaboration between two artists. At a time when society is so focused on \u2018me, myself, and I,\u2019 it\u2019s important to present a harmonious alliance\u2014two creators sharing authorship in a genuinely horizontal way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the stars of the\u00a0General Program\u00a0this year seems to be\u00a0Mallorcan artist Miquel Barcel\u00f3, shown at\u00a0Thaddaeus Ropac, which reported a \u201cvery positive first day with around half of the booth sold by the afternoon.\u201d Barcel\u00f3 is also featured at\u00a0Elvira Gonz\u00e1lez, one of ARCO\u2019s historic participants located right at the fair\u2019s northern entrance. \u201cWe are very happy with our first sales,\u201d a gallery representative said, without providing details. Barcel\u00f3 also took over the booth of Madrid\u2019s daily newspaper El Pa\u00eds<\/em>\u00a0to mark the publication\u2019s\u00a050th anniversary. Titled\u00a0\u201cEl pintar diario<\/em>,\u201d the exhibition includes 50 works on newsprint.<\/p>\n

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An installation by Jes\u00fas Rafael Soto, brought to Arco jointly by neugerriemschneider and Elvira Gonz\u00e1lez.<\/span>Courtesy Arco Madrid<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tIt was difficult not to raise the question of the VAT protests that took place in Spain in early February. Spanish galleries and art professionals had mobilized to denounce the relatively high VAT applied to art sales, arguing that it undermines the competitiveness of the local market compared with other international hubs. L\u00f3pez, Arco\u2019s co-director, did not say whether the issue might affect sales at\u00a0the fair when asked, replying instead by saying that she was in support of the VAT protests and that a reduced VAT would \u201cmake it easier to sell [artists\u2019] work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tVanessa Carlos, founder of the London-based gallery\u00a0Carlos\/Ishikawa, said she had not been aware of the protests. \u201cVAT is set at around 20 percent in the United Kingdom and can reach approximately 40 percent in Brazil,\u201d she noted. At the fair itself, however, the issue seemed largely absent from conversations, overshadowed by the pace of sales and the international mix of collectors circulating through the aisles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/market\/arco-madrid-2026-art-fair-report-1234776042\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/FM_0892.jpg?w=1024″] The 45th edition of\u00a0Arco Madrid, which runs until Sunday, March 8,\u00a0opened under an unseasonably cloudy Madrile\u00f1o sky\u2014an atmospheric departure for a fair more often associated with early spring brightness. Inside\u00a0IFEMA Madrid, the city\u2019s sprawling exhibition and convention complex, a second surprise awaited. Despite bringing together 211 galleries from 30 countries, the fair […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1812305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1812305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1812305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1812305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1812305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1812305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}