A common link between art and design is the creation of forms and expressions. If, on the one hand, art asks us questions, challenges us and encourages us to question all knowledge, design strives to offer us solutions to improve our daily lives, appealing to the functionality and usefulness of objects and materials that make our daily lives more comfortable.The boundaries that separate art from design are often very thin, but we are not really interested in talking about boundaries, on the contrary. Functionality and subjectivity can go hand in hand to build beautiful, delicate and sharp objects in their reflective expression. There is no doubt that, when art and design meet, they generate a strong link between creativity and material, becoming a useful tool to dissect the senses.

Perhaps artistic creation finds its referent in design, if we add a third element to this feedback from both sources: sustainability. The artists we present below work with the recovery of materials and their transformation into aesthetic objects. The conscience at work in the pieces of Idoia Cuesta (Donostia, 1969). Represented by the Arancha Osoro Gallery; Luz Moreno Pinart (Madrid, 1989). Represented by the CLC ARTE gallery; Lúcia David (Portugal, 1966). Represented by Trema Contemporary Art Gallery; and Cova Orgaz (Bilbao, 1983), represented by Bea Villamarín Gallery, is the result of the synthesis between tradition and innovation. They have in common, among other things, the intuitive and handmade production, the respect for resources and the time of creation. Their works are the result of a desire to slow down the pace of life through traditional methods that speak of their origins. And through these processes, each in its own way, they invite us to ask ourselves: How do we understand the time, the matter and the space in which we live?

Idoia Cuesta. Abyssal. Fishing line. Variable dimensions, 2023.

Idoia Cuesta is an artist who combines the processes of basket weaving and textile art. She uses artisanal techniques and organic materials to create pieces that reflect the identity of the raw material, and her working methodology is mainly inspired by rural environments and respect for the environment. The fibers that give corporeality to her pieces are insufflated with a healing vocation and the desire to build a personal story about the utility of the work of art in any context. In her sculptures are perceptible minimalist personality and sensory comfort, characteristics that result from the alchemy that generates the relationship between basketry and textile, and that goes beyond the simply contemplative to question how much humanity resides in the complexity of the material.

Luz Moreno Pinart. Momo hajimete saku. Papier, platre, 11x7x7cm. 2023.

Luz Moreno Pinart specializes in design, scenography and textile fibers. Her works have a strong sculptural character. The volume created by the fine strands of knotted paper transforms each piece into a kind of net that connects the emotional with the vitality of the elements. This is the impression that her woven works evoke when, in front of them, we recall the curious metaphor that everything in life happens? Our existence takes place in moments that we cherish, and the fragility of memories rests on each woven knot. In her installations, the color red - in its variable values - is a metaphor for the intensity with which the artist has lived each moment. Her works are experiments that have evolved - as a deliberate archaeology of the most deeply rooted domestic elements - projecting into the future a visual production that hybridizes the codes of design, art and craftsmanship in search of an

Lúcia David. Babel Tower. Mdf board, glue, newspapers, fabric, plastic, wire,15x15x18 cm, 2023.

Lúcia David works with performance, installation and sculpture, with a particular interest in artist's books and the textuality of the artwork. She integrates collage and stitching techniques in her creations. In her works, the artist tells the story of the women's condition, and in this journey, she recalls the collective history of the status of women in her native country. The paper, the effervescent pulp of letters and the second levels outline the sides of a needle that is both piercing and healing, with which the artist creates, writes, embroiders and perforates. All these actions in this order and with the impulse to rescue the traditions that the matriarchs of each family have handed down to generations and generations of daughters. In general, her work exalts the imperfection, the rudeness and the simplicity of the actions that take place in domestic spaces and that, over the years, have been transferred to public life. Silence takes the objects related to domestic activities into her hands, but in an attempt to raise the tone of those silent whispers, the artist pours on paper all the contained value that her predecessors also left her as an heritage.

Cova Orgaz. Blue pigeon. Polychrome cardboard nº 3, 29x33x20 cm, 2023.

Cova Orgaz has redefined creation in a risky and courageous way by using cardboard as the main material for her sculptures. Challenging its ephemeral character and difficult conservation, the artist has broken the rules to show that cardboard can be as appreciated in sculptural production as any other element. Her ability to master and be carried away by cardboard has been achieved through trial and error, but without giving up. As a result of her fruitful efforts, today she surprises us with a repertoire of endearing figurative sculptures of striking realism. There are some hands in the world that correct, others that censor and some that model in desire what, after so much work, becomes reality. In this way, Cova Orgaz's cardboard sculptures, as if they were about to come to life, elevate the material into a category as valuable as that of bronze, marble or wood. Her persistence has shown that true artistic skill goes beyond conventional materials, redefining new possibilities that can define a path for sustainable creation.

Idoia Cuesta. Abyssal. Fishing line. Variable dimensions, 2023.

In addition to fusing tradition and contemporaneity, these artists also emphasize the usefulness of virtue in creating works that position themselves in the face of certain gender issues, preserving domestic duties, questioning the established, and the value of seeing creation as a conscious practice committed to society. They have gone beyond the aesthetic, creating sensory experiences, interwoven stories, reunions with the collective memory and an obvious connection with the essence of life and nature. And the result is here: Works that, in addition to being beautiful in form, are powerful in the content they translate; they establish - with their own invisible poetics - a balance that is necessary to fulfill the task of walking on a fine line, where aesthetics and the utility of the object coexist in perfect harmony.

The contemporary art scene in Madrid, like the city itself, never stops evolving. Art Madrid, now in its twentieth edition, taking place from March 5 to 9 at the Glass Gallery of the Palacio de Cibeles, not only showcases the latest artistic trends but also invites us to question how we inhabit the world.

Miska-Mohmmed. Suburbs. 2022. Courtesy of OOA Gallery.

After a year of dedicated work organizing this new edition, we find ourselves at the peak of the process: the fair is about to begin. Having overcome the most challenging stages, we are fully aware of our mission—to be the platform that connects a vast diversity of artists with the public. We want their voices to reach you, whether through our communication efforts or your visit to the fair. This year, Art Madrid brings together nearly two hundred artists from twenty-seven countries, represented by thirty-four galleries from ten nations. From Taiwan to Mexico; from Cuba to Portugal; from Italy to Brazil; from Japan to Spain—tracing a route through the Dominican Republic, Peru, Germany, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Belgium, Poland, the Congo, the Netherlands, Morocco, Argentina, Slovakia, Sudan, Austria, and Serbia. The wealth and diversity we are exposed to over these five days indicate that today's maps are shifting—or changing color, as the troubadour sings in that song. We are no longer talking only about physical borders; today's maps are fluid and transitory. They represent our identity, our memory, and our human connections.

Ruddy Taveras. The Key to the treasure. 2024. Courtesy of Galería Luisa Pita.

The artists at Art Madrid, through works ranging from painting to installation, invite us to explore this uncertainty, to question ourselves, and, above all, to discover new possibilities.

Historically, maps have been tools for understanding space and locating ourselves in the world. However, today more than ever, those maps, like the territories they represent, are open to question—they have mutated, digitized, and fragmented. And as this happens, art continues to be the medium through which, paradoxically, we can find points of reference, direction, and meaning. Art Madrid, like other major events that reflect the pulse of contemporary art, is not immune to this reconfiguration.

Khalid El Bekay. Africa. Diptych. 2024. Courtesy of Galería Espiral.

In a sector that sometimes falls into inertia, we ask ourselves how to bring together so many perspectives, styles, and discourses in the same space for five days. That question leads us to a broader reflection on the geographical and ideological boundaries we inhabit today.

The thirty-four participating galleries introduce us to a universe of creators who, though diverse in technique and approach, share a common concern: the need to reinterpret the world from new perspectives. What once seemed immutable is now in constant flux. Globalization, technology, politics, and the climate crisis have altered the maps that once guided us. But in every change, there is an opportunity—a territory for creation. And that is where art comes in: as a vehicle for imagining new cartographies.

Maps, like identities, are constructions in constant evolution. Instead of marking borders, art today invites us to erase them. With more than thirty international galleries in attendance, Art Madrid reinforces its global character and its ability to transcend geography. Here, artists do not work on pre-existing maps; they reinvent them with each creation.

Francesca Poza. Emotions. 2024. Courtesy of Galería Alba Cabrera.

The works presented at the fair are not confined to a single medium. Through painting, sculpture, installation, and new technologies, artists explore how we position ourselves in a world where traditional structures are increasingly fluid. They do not seek easy answers but pose essential questions: What does it mean to belong to a territory today? How do globalization, the climate crisis, and the digital era affect us?

Art Madrid becomes a space where creators engage with the major questions of our time—from the geopolitical to the emotional. Their works are not just meant to be contemplated; they provoke, shake, and transform.

Okuda San Miguel. Born to Be an Angel. 2023. Courtesy of 3 Punts Galería.

The borders of art, like those of maps, are no longer fixed. That is the challenge the fair presents this year: to question them, expand them, and redefine the role of art in a constantly changing world.

In this reconfiguration, Art Madrid positions itself as a space where the voices of contemporary art help us redraw the map of humanity, both in its physical and emotional dimensions. Because today, true borders are not just geographical—they are also cultural, digital, and symbolic. And being an open window to that experimental exercise that is making art, is precisely the space where those borders can be subverted and even crossed.