Intercessions. Performance Cycle X Tara For Women. Parallel Program. Art Madrid'24

INTERCESSIONS. PERFORMANCE CYCLE X TARA FOR WOMEN

In his Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard states: "One must be in the present, in the present of the image, in the minute of the image: if there is a philosophy of poetry, this philosophy must be born and reborn with the motif of a dominant verse, in total adherence to an isolated image, and precisely in the ecstasy of the novelty of the image”.

In our present time, a moment of homogenized images, we find a problem that is expressed in the need to listen to the voices that come from otherness. In those other places, it is still possible to find the novelty of the image and the poetry of the image that announces diversity. Everything seems known or familiar if we explore the possibilities of representing a concise idea of the present, of the moment that obliges us to act. From here, contemporary art serves as a pretext to transform society, making use of its goodness as a healing instrument and giving voice to those who turn their vocation into dominant verse, to break into the scenario in which everything happens and takes place, thus making them part of what is happening.

Are we capable of putting ourselves in the place of the other? Do we use our privileged place to intercede for others? How often do we drop our "I" to support the " We"? What does it mean to work for the common good?

All these questions are answered in the exercise of intercession. How people intercede for one another in order to change the course of events, how intercession has the purpose of finding a solution for the improvement of our fellows, how the work and the commitment of those for whom we intercede are brought into a common place.

Thus was born Intercessions, a Performance Cycle X Tara For Women, part of the Parallel Program of Art Madrid'24, featuring artists Estel Boada (Mataró, Barcelona, 1991), Teresa Búa (Muxía, A Coruña, 1991), Sara Domínguez (Málaga, 1993) and Mónica Egido (Salamanca, 1994). The main purpose of the cycle is to bet on projects that reflect our times. The performance in its multiple dramaturgical expressions, especially those that use the body as a vehicle to deconstruct and observe from a critical perspective, the relationship of human beings with their natural environment, are conducive to relate the truth of our time.

Mónica Egido. Still from the FOMO Project. 2024.

Like hands to the body, eyes to the soul, earth to life, and art to society, the powerful metaphor that represents the exercise of interceding for the other turns the stage of the fair into a device capable of activating and communicating the concerns of the invited artists and extending them to the public in a gesture of empathy..

The treatment of human relations makes the carnal habitat a reservoir of affection for the surrounding reality. To intercede for others, to propitiate an intercession with the objective of achieving a benefit for an entity or subject that dynamizes our action, is the leitmotif of this performance cycle, which appropriates one of the most important artistic moments of the year and transforms it into a catapult of projection for the four participating artists.

Estel Boada. Performance of Pfff Historia d'una Fitball. Documentation. 2024.

Intercessions proposes a sharp look at the symbolic relationship between human beings and their context, turning the body into a reservoir of affections that enables intercession and the act of interceding for other entities or subjects. In essence, this initiative seeks to promote reflections that transcend the surface of everyday experience, challenging prejudices and entering into the construction of an artistic legacy forged from experience stripped of conventionalisms.

The selection of artists responds to the need to highlight the relevance of works that, through performance, have a strong impact on the collective conscience regarding the challenges and dangers that threaten our society and the way we relate to others. The human body, considered as a motor and a link with the artistic and natural essence, becomes the epicenter of the conceptual exploration proposed by this program, transcending the ordinary to unravel the complexities of the intercession between the individual and his environment.

During the days of the fair, Intercessions will transform the exhibition space into an activating device powerfully communicating the urgency with which humanity must approach the construction of its future legacy. Just as the hands are to the body, the eyes to the soul, and the earth to life, this cycle of performances affirms that art, in its maximum expression, intercedes for us, and represents the fundamental notion that will guide the participants in their search for the transcendence and meaning of their works. Intercessions is thus established as a manifesto of performance, a critical and transformative instrument forging a provocative and necessary dialogue in the context of Art Madrid'24.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Mónica Egido (Salamanca, 1994) is a visual artist with a background in physiotherapy and specialization in neuroscience of chronic pain and obstetrics. She has excelled in the field of photography, being selected for Futures Photography 2023 and awarded a grant by PhotoEspaña. Her work, exhibited in various spaces in Europe, addresses different issues of neuroscience in relation to health, using art as a mechanism for dissemination, as in her latest project FOMO, where she talks about the impact of permanent anxiety on physical and mental health. Her piece Vacío reflects on the feeling of dissatisfaction and unhappiness that many people of the millennial generation suffer from.

Mónica Egido. Guest artist of Intercessions. Performance Cycle X Tara For Women.

Mónica Egido presents at Art Madrid'24 her performance: VACÍO. From the series FOMO

Vacío is a reflection of the sense of dissatisfaction and constant unhappiness that many people belonging to the millennial generation suffer from.

Mónica Egido. Still from Vacío. FOMO Project. 2024.

Sara Gema Domínguez (Malaga, 1993) is an artist with a background in Fine Arts and a MA in Interdisciplinary Artistic Production and Research. She specializes in action art, exploring the relationship between art and life. The performance Bingo de Artista satirizes and criticizes the processes of artistic professionalization, inviting the public to participate as potential creators in a game that questions chance and artistic recognition.

Sara Gema Domínguez. Guest artist of Intercessions. Performance Cycle X Tara For Women.

Sara Gema Domínguez presents at Art Madrid'24 her performance: BINGO DE ARTISTA

Chance is a constant in our lives, and the context in which an artist is born or develops is essential to determine their position in the market or mere recognition.

Sara Gema Domínguez. Bingo de artista. Documentation. 2024.

Teresa Búa (Muxía, A Coruña, 1991) combines fine arts, fashion design and craftsmanship in her artistic projects. Her work, represented in national and international exhibitions, focuses on self-knowledge, Galician cultural heritage and digital fashion.

Teresa Búa. Guest artist of Intercessions. Performance Cycle X Tara For Women.

Teresa Búa presents at Art Madrid'24 her performance: MATERNIDAD 4. AMAMANTAR

This work invites us to witness the beauty of maternal experience as a source of creativity in the intercession of life and production as interconnected forces in human experience.

Teresa Búa. Maternidad 4. Amamantar. Documentation. 2024.

Estel Boada (Mataró, Barcelona, 1991) is a multifaceted artist who addresses past, present and future issues in an ironic and burlesque way. With a background in Fine Arts, her work includes design, drawing, performance, among others…

Estel Boada. Guest artist of Intercessions. Performance Cycle X Tara For Women.

Estel Boada presents at Art Madrid'24 her performance: STAND, BY ME

Stand, by Me is a performance that wants to address the responsibility and the position of an art fair stand from an ironic and burlesque point of view.

Estel Boada. Stand, By Me. Documentation. 2024.

PERFORMANCES

Wednesday, 6 March / 19:00 h - Mónica Egido - VACÍO

Thursday, 7 March / 19:00 h - Sara Gema Domínguez - BINGO DE ARTISTA

Friday, 8 March / 17:00 h - Teresa Búa - MATERNIDAD 4. AMAMANTAR

Saturday, 9 March / 19:00 h - Estel Boada - STAND, BY ME

The performance cycle Intercessions. X Tara For Women is supported by the Foundation, whose mission is to empower talented women around the world to promote sustainable economic and social development. Its vision is to build a global community without borders, where talented women find the necessary empowerment and access to the essential tools to achieve success in their endeavors and artistic expressions. True to its values, it joins Art Madrid in this edition to contribute to the much-needed work of representing the talent of women artists in the national contemporary art exhibition circuit.

ART MADRID’25 PRESENTS THE PARTICIPATING GALLERIES AND THE PARALLEL PROGRAM FOR THE EDITION

Art Madrid celebrates 20 years of contemporary art in 2025, reaffirming its role as a key legitimizing event in Spain's visual arts sector. As the contemporary art fair that paved the way for other fairs and events now coinciding on the same dates, it once again welcomes national and international galleries during Madrid Art Week. This edition promises to lay the foundation for the new directions the fair will take in the future.

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Art Madrid’25 presents the Gallery Program for its 20th edition

The Gallery Program of Art Madrid’25 is the main axis of the fair, serving as a meeting point where diverse voices of contemporary art converge. Comprised of a selection of established, mid-career, and emerging galleries, the program offers a representative vision of the latest artistic trends. Through experimentation and the exploration of new visual languages, participating artists present works that reflect the aesthetic codes and concerns of our time. Each edition, Art Madrid stands out for its curatorial approach, featuring a carefully curated selection of national and international galleries and artists, showcasing the pulse of the most innovative proposals that define the present and future of contemporary art.

In this 20th edition, Art Madrid becomes an essential meeting point for those who closely follow the work of galleries and artists. The Crystal Gallery will be filled with fresh and daring proposals from thirty-five galleries, both national and international, inviting us to rethink art in its purest form. What we will see is not just a display of the best of the moment, but a testament to how art continues to challenge conventions, evoke emotions, and push the boundaries of what is possible.

The exhibition proposals, varied in approaches and techniques, bring us closer to an art that is unafraid to experiment and encourages us to reflect on the world around us. Each work, more than just an aesthetic object, will be a provocation, an invitation to look beyond the obvious. Throughout the fair, it will be impossible not to feel how these creations leave their mark on contemporary culture while simultaneously finding their place within the complex framework of the art market, reaffirming Art Madrid as a key reference within the national art scene.

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

Spanish galleries: New voices emerge

Spain will be represented by twenty-one galleries, a strong showcase of the creative diversity across the country. Two of them are participating in Art Madrid for the first time: Carmen Terreros Gallery (Zaragoza) and Canal Gallery (Barcelona), bringing with them a breath of fresh air that promises to surprise. Nineteen galleries are returning to the fair, celebrating the twenty years of an event that opened its doors to them from the very beginning, with the shared commitment to continue working for contemporary art produced locally. The galleries returning to Art Madrid’25 are: 3 Punts Galería (Barcelona); Alba Cabrera Gallery (Valencia); Aurora Vigil-Escalera (Gijón); CLC ARTE (Valencia); DDR Art Gallery (Madrid); Galería Arancha Osoro (Oviedo); Galería BAT alberto cornejo (Madrid); Galería Espiral (Noja); Galería La Mercería (Valencia); Galería Luisa Pita (Santiago de Compostela); Galería Metro (Santiago de Compostela); Galería Rodrigo Juarranz (Aranda de Duero); Inéditad Gallery (Barcelona); Kur Art Gallery (San Sebastián); Moret Art (A Coruña); OOA GALLERY (Sitges/London); Pigment Gallery (Barcelona); Shiras Galería (Valencia); and Uxval Gochez Gallery (Barcelona).

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

International galleries: A dialogue without borders

Pero el arte no entiende de fronteras, y por eso Art Madrid siempre ha sido un lugar de encuentro global. Este año, trece galerías internacionales ocupan sus lugares de enunciación para enriquecer la propuesta expositiva del evento. Cuatro de ellas participan por primera vez: Aria Gallery (Florencia, Italia), CHINI Gallery (Taipéi, Taiwán); Gallery 1000A (Nueva Delhi, India) y Ting Ting Art Space (Taipéi, Taiwán), aportarán una visión fresca y diversa, consolidando a Art Madrid como una feria en expansión hacia el escenario del arte contemporáneo internacional. Junto a estas, otras como Collage Habana (La Habana, Cuba); Galeria Sâo Mamede (Lisboa, Portugal); Galleria Stefano Forni (Bolonia, Italia); Jackie Shor Projects (São Paulo, Brasil); Loo & Lou Gallery (París, Francia); Nuno Sacramento Arte Contemporânea (Ílhavo, Portugal); O-Art Project (Lima, Perú),Trema Arte Contemporânea (Lisboa, Portugal) y Yiri Arts (Taipéi, Taiwán), que una edición más vuelven a confiar en Art Madrid como apuesta segura.

But art knows no boundaries, which is why Art Madrid has always been a global meeting point. This year, thirteen international galleries will take their places to enrich the event's exhibition proposal. Four of them are participating for the first time: Aria Gallery (Florence, Italy), CHINI Gallery (Taipei, Taiwan), Gallery 1000A (New Delhi, India), and Ting Ting Art Space (Taipei, Taiwan), bringing a fresh and diverse perspective, consolidating Art Madrid as a fair expanding into the international contemporary art scene. Alongside them, others such as Collage Habana (Havana, Cuba), Galeria Sâo Mamede (Lisbon, Portugal), Galleria Stefano Forni (Bologna, Italy), Jackie Shor Projects (São Paulo, Brazil), Loo & Lou Gallery (Paris, France), Nuno Sacramento Arte Contemporânea (Ílhavo, Portugal), O-Art Project (Lima, Peru), Trema Arte Contemporânea (Lisbon, Portugal), and Yiri Arts (Taipei, Taiwan) return once again, trusting Art Madrid as a reliable platform.

The journey through these twenty years of contemporary art has been a milestone that we reach with the same commitment as the emerging project that once reshaped the landscape of art fairs in Spain and has since been both a participant and witness to the growth of a welcoming, diverse, strong, and constantly evolving art scene.

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

Parallel program: Sensitive Cartographies of the City Territory

The Parallel Program of Art Madrid'25 goes beyond the boundaries of the fair, proposing a dynamic connection between art and the city. Under the concept of Territory and City, this edition takes art to urban spaces, to the everyday corners that shape the memory and present of Madrid.

Highlighted activities include augmented reality and digital experiences, video creation, ephemeral installations, and urban interventions that engage directly with the city of Madrid. These actions expand the work of the artists into the urban environment, fostering an ongoing conversation between art and the territory. In this way, the city becomes a creative laboratory where the everyday and the artistic intertwine, opening new forms of connection between the community and art.

The program also explores the emotional and identity geographies that run through Madrid, inviting reflection on the meaning of belonging to a place and how artistic practices transform our relationship with space. Through the theme of Territory and City, the Parallel Program of Art Madrid'25 creates a map that connects the local with the global, the intimate with the collective, and opens a sensory experience that strengthens the ties between art, territory as an expanded concept, and the city as a container of sensitive realities.

The Parallel Program of Art Madrid'25 invites you to explore the intersections between art, public space, and community, transforming Madrid into a territory-city of creation and shared reflection.

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

In this 20th edition, we proudly celebrate the journey of our fair and deeply appreciate the support and trust of artists, gallerists, collectors, and art enthusiasts who have been key to Art Madrid’s continued growth with an eye on the future. It has not been an easy path, but we have understood the importance of ensuring that an event like this endures, solidifies its place in the national art market circuit, and becomes a gateway to the international art scene.