Madrid Art: New Exhibition at The Prado Museum

Until September 26th, one can catch a historically relevant and aesthetically different exhibit at Madrid’s most famous fine arts museum, The Prado. The Mercury and Herse Series is a show that consists of a sequence of tapestries that were woven with silken strands of real gold. The series retells the love story of Mercury and Herse, as written by Ovid. The tale is one of love and jealousy with three main characters, Mercury, Herse and Aglauros. Through eight panels, the exhibit portrays Mercury’s descent to earth, his seduction of Herse, Aglauros’ metamorphosis, the ultimate triumph of the Mercury and Herses’ love, and everything in between. The tapestries are mounted in frames that were based on designs by Raphael and made originally for a series of tapestries that would be hung in the Sistine Chapel.

The artist, Willem Pannemaker (1535-1581) was a son of the most prominent family of tapestry-weavers in Brussels. He is undoubtedly the most recognized tapestry-weaver of the Flemish Renaissance and eventually worked for the aristocracy and for multiple European courts. Among the many royal figures for whom he supplied magnificent tapestries was Carlos I of Spain.

Where: The Prado
Address: Ruíz de Alarcón, 23
Hours: Tuesdays – Sundays 9:00 a.m. – 20:00 p.m.
(Free Access Tuesdays – Saturdays from 18:00 p.m. – 20:00 p.m.)
Cost: 8 euros for adults, 4 euros for students and seniors with ID.
Metro: Banco de España

By Chloe Nash

Madrid Free Art Exhibition: Fair Trade: A product, A Story

In this progressive exhibition, art is used as a vehicle for education. Through audiovisual material, objects, and photographs, Fair Trade: A Product, A Story didactically explains the significance and process of developing and marketing fair trade products in the modern world. The exhibition poignantly prompts reflection on the necessary responsibility of consumption and the importance of good conditions and quality of life for farmers and producers. The subject matter in the show is based on the most exemplifying products of fair trade – coffee, cotton, cocoa and sugar.

The show has already been a success in Barcelona, and will travel to Mallorca, Spain, after its conclusion in Madrid. Through simple yet moving images, the show instills in its viewer the knowledge that there is a story and complex series of interactions behind everything we eat.

The fair trade label, an alternative to conventional consumption, guarantees the wholesome responsibility to both the environment and to society. In Spain, there are 33 companies that manufacture their own certified fair trade products. Although this is a promising start, Spain, like every other modern country, ought to be producing more fair trade products. Of course, this shift, like any social change, starts with education. The venue, The Caixa Forum, has taken on a moral cause with this show, gracefully merging art and social action. Check it out before it’s over and help make it a success.
Where: The Caixa Forum
Address: Paseo del Prado, 36
When – Now until August 29^th
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 20:00 p.m. every day
Cost: Free
Metro: Atocha

By Chloe Nashe

Free Art Exhibition in Madrid: Federico Fellini. The Circus of Illusions.

This innovative expedition explores the creative trajectory and nearly mystic air of the legendary Italian film director, Federico Fellini. The show projects Fellini’s artistic spirit and character onto the walls through more than 400 works of art – photos, drawings, magazines, posters and fragments of films. The images and media present the legendary film figure through the lens of his many obsessions – stylistic, aesthetic, and everyday inclinations are captured through this multi-media time capsule.

Although the show is essentially a tribute to a renowned artist, it is not your typical biography-exhibition. The art is not ordered chronologically, but thematically. The different sections are, “Fellini and Pop Culture,” “Fellini in His Work, ” “The City of the Women,” and “Fellini or the Biographical Invention.” These different settings embrace the themes that have characterized Fillini’s films such as myth, caricature, the feminine universe, the ambiguity of religious sentiments, and many other compelling notions that will enhance your perspective of and understanding for the renowned Federico Fellini.

Where: Caixa Forum Madrid
Address: Paseo del Prado, 36
When: Now – December 26, 2010
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 20:00 p.m. every day
Cost: Free!
Metro: Atocha

By Chloe Nash

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1. Paseo del Prado, 36

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Free Surrealist Exhibition: The Subversion of the Images

More than 400 pieces of art – photography and video – compile this ample exposition of progressive surrealism from the 20s and 30s. The title, the Subversion of the Images, refers to the common ground among the show’s works- the fact that all artists have treated and manipulated their image with a slightly disruptive intention. As well as paving a novel artistic technique, the artists depicted in this show have also opened the door to a new lifestyle; their art is an example of a different surrealistic lens for viewing the world.

The art is divided into nine thematic sections. “The Collective Action” emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary creation to surrealist artists. “The Theatre of the Injustice” approaches the outcomes and effects of staging a setting in photography. “The Real, The Fortunate, The Marvelous” depicts the metropolitan life as the stage on which secrets hide, like the images of Eugene Atget. “The Board of the Assembly” is a collection of photo collages and montages. “Impulse Analysis” and “The Interior Model” calls attention to the urge to follow the object of a dream. “The Automatic Registration” relates the idea of sovereignty with the action of taking photographs. “In The Autonomy of the Image,” authors like Man Ray and Raoul Ubab experiment with new photographic processes.  Lastly, “The Good Use of Surrealism” demonstrates the extensions of the surrealist esthetic for the public. André Breton, Man Ray, René Magritte, Dora Maar, Luis Buñuel and Robert Bresson are a few of the widely noted artists in the exposition.

Where: Fundación Mapfre Recoletos
Address: Paseo de Recoletos, 23
Metro: Banco de España
When: Now – September 12th, 2010
Hours: Monday 14:00 p.m. – 20: 00 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 20:00 p.m. Sunday: 11: 00 a.m. – 19:00 p.m.
Cost: Free

*Free tours: Tuesday 12:00 p.m. – 19:00 p.m.

By Chloe Nash

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1. Paseo de Recoletos, 23

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Free Exhibition: Ecological Architecture

One of The Fundación Canal’s current expositions, Towards Other Architecture, presents 24 sustainable architectural projects from around the world. The viewer can mull over creative analysis of 24 architectural projects through 3D models and audiovisual material. The exhibit consists of projects by 12 noted names in the architectural world: Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Ken Yeang, Emilio Ambasz, Jonathan Hines, Rafael de la Hoz, David Kirkland, Mario Cucinella, Antonio Lamela, Íñigo Ortiz, Enrique León and Luis de Garrido. Two projects of each architect are displayed in Towards Other Architecture.

These architectural projects confront the energy and ecological crisis with innovation and good design. The model-buildings on display in this exhibit boast innovative resources and materials that lesson the consumption of energy and negative environmental impact.

The exhibition explains what sort of environmental problems ecological architecture can solve while still providing for the wants and needs of the people who will inhabit the building. For anyone interested in a greener world (which should be all of us!), this exhibit is definitely worthwhile.

Cost: Free
When: Until July 25th, 2010
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 11 a.m. until 20 p.m. Wednesday: 11 a.m. until 15 p.m.
Where: Fundación Canal, Calle Mateo Inurria, 2
Metro: Plaza de Castilla

By Chloe Nash

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: Ghirlandaio and the Florentine Renaissnance

Beginning June 23^rd, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum will present a temporary exhibit of Domenecio Ghirlandaio and the Florentine Renaissance. The show will offer a thorough perspective of 15^th century Florentine art and includes as a starting point the famous Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni. Painted by Ghirlandaio between 1489 and 1490, it is widely considered a masterpiece in the world of Art History.

The exhibition will boast a collection of 60 or so works, covering mediums such as sculptures, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, medals and daily objects. The assortment of art illustrates 3 spheres of Florentine art and culture in the 1400s: the portrait as a genre, the theme of love, and the phenomenon of religious iconography.

To attend and absorb this Ghirlandaio exhibition is to take a trip through time – any viewer will gain a detailed understanding of fifteenth-century Florentine life. The show captures and teaches about the social and commercial relationships, religious beliefs and domestic life of its period. Other artists in the exhibition include Pollaiuolo, Botticelli, Verrocchio, and Filippo and Filippino Lippi.

When: June 23^rd – October 10th, 2010
Where: Paseo del Prado, 8
Metro: Banco de España
Cost: 8 euros for General Public, 5 euros for seniors and students with ID, Free for children under 12
Museum Hours: Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 19:00 p.m. Closed on Mondays.

By Chloe Nash

1 places are mentioned in this post!

1. NH Paseo del Prado
   Right in the centre of Madrid, the NH Paseo del Prado Hotel is just a few

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Art Exhibition: Oscar Muñoz ¨Becoming Air¨

Oscar Muñoz´s current exhibition ¨Volverse Air¨ or ¨Becoming Air¨ is part of the PhotoEspaña photography festival and is now housed in Círculo de las Bellas Artes’ Sala Goya from June 10th  until July 4th. The show contains a minimal amount of art (4 installations) but one could easily spend an hour in the space, as Muñoz´s pieces are incredibly thought provoking and innovative. The exhibition is a result of Muñoz´s poetic re-interpretations of photography, drawing, installation art and film as modes of expression.

Upon entering the Sala Goya, the first thing that caught my eye was the series of films (six or so) projected onto one wall. Each clip shows Muñoz´s right hand painting portraits on a sidewalk. In the place of paint, however, Muñoz uses water. With a few graceful strokes of a wet paintbrush, Muñoz quickly converts the sidewalk into a palette for a beautiful face. After each portrait is finished, the video remains filming and if you watch for long enough, you will see the image begin to dry and fade away.

Across the room is a line of mirrors that are hung at (more-or-less) eye level. If you are close enough to the mirror and exhale slowly, your breath will bring out an image in the mirror instead of making it foggy. In this piece, like most of Muñoz’s art, the idea of reflection is a central focus.

But it is Narcisos, Muñoz´s series of five self-portraits, which steals the show. Not only are the images simultaneously striking and light on the eye, but also the concept behind them is also completely original. The five self-portraits sit on a table so the viewer has a bird’s-eye perspective.  Using his own alternative photographic process, Muñoz applied coal-powder to different types of paper – old maps and newspapers are a couple examples. The coal-powder, which looks like crushed black chalk, forms stamp-like images of Muñoz’s face. The paper rests on the surface of water, so that each self-portrait is essentially floating in its own box/frame. As the water moves and evaporates, the form of the coal-powder shifts as well.

At the heart of this series is a loud statement about the uncontrollable and constant mutability that Muñoz and his art encounter with time. It is the kind of art that really engages the viewer – I witnessed most people in the exhibition stooped over to examine the art, re-read the description on the wall, and return to the series with curious eyes before walking away looking impressed and inspired.

A ticket to enter Círculo de Las Bellas Artes is super easy on the wallet (1 euro!) and  ¨Becoming Air¨ is only one of the many exhibitions currently open in this beautiful building.

Círculo de Las Bellas Artes Hours
Tuesday-Saturday:  11.00 a.m. — 14.00 p.m.  &   17.00 p.m. — 21.00 p.m.
Sunday: 11.00 a.m. — 14.00 p.m.

By Chloe Nash

Portraits of Star Wars

Picnic, a small bar-lounge-café in the neighborhood Malasañas, is the current home to an informal exposition of Star Wars Portraits. Until June 13^th, one can find 6 framed paintings of Star Wars characters hanging with an air of importance on Picnic’s eclectic walls. There is a goofy undertone to the expedition, and a handful of Picnic’s regular customers don’t think it is really art, but the humor behind the display is certainly part of Picnic’s charm. One of Picnic’s employees describes the portraits in the Star Wars Exhibition as a combination of street art, handmade movie posters, and the labels of vintage jeans. The artist behind these works, Ezequiel Rubio Lancho, is actually an emerging musician, and if you’ve ever roamed the streets of Malasaña, you’ve probably walked past one of the comic-style posters he’s designed for concerts. Although his roots are in music, he certainly has a knack for painting, as this exposition confirms.

Bar Picnic
Address: Calle Minas, 1
Metro: Noviciado
Sunday-Thursday: 17:00 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.
Friday-Saturday – 17:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.

By Chloe Nash

PHotoEspaña 2010

Back for a thirteenth year, PHotoEspaña will be opening its amazing program of events on Wednesday, June 9^th and will continue the photography showcase through July 25^th.  The festival is widely regarded as one of the best forums on photography in the world and this year it will play host to nearly seventy exhibitions with works from close to 400 different artists.  Some of the featured international names this year include:  Oscar Muñoz, Roman Singer, Jem Southam, Bleda y Rosa, Harold Edgerton, Jeff Wall, Helen Levitt, Wolfgang Thaler, Ute Klein, Steven Pippin, Collier Schorr and many more.  For more information click here.

By Coleman File

Exhibition: Tutankhamen

From May 21st to October 16th  Madrid’s Casa de Campo ( the closest metros are Lago and Puerta del Angel) will offer the chance to visit an up to scale reconstruction of Tutankhamen’s tomb, same as it was discovered back in 1922. The famed Egyptian is undoubtedly the most well known  of the pharaohs in part because of the amount of treasure that was found along with his well preserved body.  Although nearly all of the original pieces are kept in Cairo, this reproduction offers a tridimensional view of the funeral chamber. The exhibition also includes a series of films that expose the history of the pharaoh as well as the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter. For tickets click here or call 902 585 125

Sunday’ s through Thursdays – 10:00 – 20:00 p.m.  /  Friday’s and Saturdays – 10:00 – 22:00 p.m.

Adults: 10 euros / Children: 5 euros / Seniors and students: 8 euros

By Daniel Sznajderman

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1. Casa de Campo, 0, 28011 Madrid

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