The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, along with the Delegate of Culture, Tourism, and Sports, Marta Rivera de la Cruz, accompanied the kings today at the inauguration of the 44th International Contemporary Art Fair ARCOmadrid, which is taking place until March 9 at IFEMA Madrid with the Amazon as the central project.
Within the framework of the fair, which will once again bring together a selection of major names from the international gallery scene, the Madrid City Council, through the Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sports, has acquired two new works that will become part of the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art collection. The selected works belong to two prominent national artists, Victoria Civera and Irma Álvarez-Laviada, with whom the City Council aims to enhance the diversity and quality of its collection.
Since 2019, the City Council has acquired 21 works at ARCOmadrid, reaffirming its commitment to contemporary art and the enrichment of the city’s cultural heritage.
The two acquisitions and their authors
The first of the acquisitions, Abecedario espiritual, by Victoria Civera, is an installation composed of felt, wooden stools, a fabric hanger, and other various materials. This work belongs to the artist’s nineties period, where she evolved towards the use of everyday objects with a figurative vocation.
The installation highlights the importance of materials in her artistic practice and her exploration of space through subtle compositions rich in symbolism. Her interest in sensory perception and the relationship between the object and the viewer make this work one of her most representative pieces.
On the other hand, Detrás del amarillo canta el pájaro, by Irma Álvarez-Laviada, is a work made of pigmented DM in primary colors that establishes a dialogue with avant-garde pictorial tradition and constructivism. The piece plays with the materiality and physicality of color, integrating a conceptual approach that questions the boundaries between painting and sculpture.
Her plastic language is based on formal reduction and experimentation with the support, challenging the viewer’s perception and exploring the relationship between color and space. Her work is part of the so-called ‘expanded painting’, a line of research that transcends the traditional canvas to integrate new spatial dimensions. /
