My visit to ARCO, Madrid's contemporary art fair, happens at a time when I am designing 2,000 dollar homes and just returned from a brainstorming session on it in Africa. In this context, it feels rather difficult to appreciate any dispensable object that carries the same price tag as hundred homes. This said, art isn't that inessential. It has an extraordinary effect on the soul and the artworks at this year's edition did certainly meet the purpose. Here is a selection of my favourites.
Richard Mosse's colour-infrared pictures of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are something I always look forward to in ARCO. The Ireland-born and New York-based photographer has been shooting landscapes, people and rebel soldiers in eastern DRC since 2011 using Kodak Aerochrome, a film developed in the 1940s for military surveillance. It reflects the infrared spectrum and renders green into pink.
There have been various iterations of Mosse's Congo project in previous editions of ARCO (see my 2013 and 2014 posts). No warlords or IDP camps pictures this year but a more subtle portrait of the Congo conflict. In his short film "The Impossible Image" Mosse explains the project in more detail.
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| Richard Mosse, Come Out (1966) XXX, 2012 | Carlier Gebauer Gallery, Berlin |
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| Alberto Casari | Galeria Lucia de la Puente, Lima |
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| Markus Huemer, Wir haben jetzt klare Verhältnisse, aber wir wissen noch nicht welche | Galerie Max Weber Six Friedrich, Munich |
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| Albrecht Schnider, Untitled (2014) | Galerie Bob van Orsouw, Zurich |
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| Sarah Morris, Bye Bye Brazil (2014) | Galeria La Caja Negra, Madrid |
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| Olafur Eliasson, Your Lunar Reflection (2015) | Galeria Elvira Gonzalez, Madrid |
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| Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Cloud Prototype No 3 (2012-13) | Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica |
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| Julian Opie | Galeria Mário Sequeira, Braga |
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| José Lourenço, Untitled (2015) | Carlos Carvalho Contemporary Art, Lisbon |
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| Asier Mendizabal, Placa (2014) | Galería Carreras Mugica, Bilbao |
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| Charlotte Posenenske, Series D Vierkantrohr (1967) | Galerie Mehdi Chouakri, Berlin |
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| Martin Parr, The Amalfi Coast, Sorrento 2014 | Studio Trisorio, Naples |
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| Primož Bizjak, Telefónica Madrid (2012) | Gregor Podnar Gallery, Berlin |
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| Quayola, Iconographies #20-1 (2014), "The Tiger Hunt" after Rubens | Bitforms Gallery, New York |
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| Rafa Macarrón, Turista (2015) | Galería Juan Silió, Santander |
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| Carlos Bunga, Intento de conservación III (2015) | Galería Elba Benítez, Madrid |
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| José Dávila, Untitled (2014) | Galería Travesía Cuatro, Madrid |
The guest country this year, Colombia, is present in ARCO with ten galleries and twenty artists. The most impressive part of the ARCO Colombia programme, though, is the vast display of Colombian art in all major Madrid museums, organized by the Colombian government and on show till April.
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| Jorge Magyaroll, Trabajo Inacabado | Galería El Museo, Bogotá |
Photo collages
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| Ángel Marcos, La mirada blanca 6 (2011) | Galería Max Estrella, Madrid |
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| Teresa Margollés, Esta finca no será demolida (2011-13) | Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich |
JustMAD happens every year in parallel to ARCO and is Madrid's affordable art fair. Lovely photographs there from Christto & Andrew, the Puerto Rican and South African duo living and working in Qatar.
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| Christto & Andrew, Hamour (2014) | Galería Espai Tactel, Valencia |
About
ARCO International Contemporary Art Fair | Madrid | 25 February - 1 March 2015
JustMAD Emerging Art Fair | Madrid | 24 February - 1 March 2015
ARCO Colombia 2015
Previous Articles
ARCOMadrid 2014
ARCOMadrid 2013
ARCOMadrid 2012 and 2013 Prospect
Featured Artists
Primož Bizjak
Carlos Bunga
Alberto Casari
Christto & Andrew
José Dávila
Olafur Eliasson
Markus Huemer
José Lourenço
Rafa Macarrón
Jorge Magyaroff
Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle
Ángel Marcos
Teresa Margollés
Asier Mendizabal
Richard Mosse
Sarah Morris
Julian Opie
Martin Parr
Charlotte Posenenske
Quayola
Albrecht Schnider
Photos by PS
Cover picture by Richard Mosse, Come Out (1966) XXXIII, 2012 | Carlier Gebauer Gallery, Berlin
