Madrid Gallery Weekend with Karen Boyer
Karen with a Donna Huanca Painting
APAA Advisor Karen Boyer Shares Highlights from Madrid Gallery Weekend
Madrid’s Gallery Weekend (September 11–14) recently wrapped up, and it was full of exciting art, lively events, and contagious energy. 55 galleries across the city opened simultaneously on Thursday night — doors wide, drinks flowing, and crowds racing from Chueca to Salamanca and even out to Carabanchel, Madrid’s up-and-coming art neighborhood. The atmosphere carried through the weekend, with extended hours on Friday and Saturday nights and galleries even open on Sunday morning.
What stood out most was the sense that the whole city came together to support artists and galleries. Performances, talks, gallery dinners, and conversations spilling into the night made it feel less like a run of openings and more like a cultural celebration.
Gallery Dinners
I attended three gallery dinners — fun, interesting evenings with great food, great people, and great art:
Bowman Hal for Aaron Johnson, presented inside Solo, the private collection of Ana Gervás and David Cantolla. Bowman Hall is a commercial gallery housed within this extraordinary museum-scale space and operates by appointment, which made seeing Johnson’s show there feel particularly notable.
Albarrán Bourdais for Cristina Lucas, whose work tackles politics, memory, and technology in ways that feel very current.
Sabrina Amrani for Chant Avedissian, whose colorful, pattern-filled works mix cultural references with wit and charm.
Aaron Johnson Presented Inside Solo
Cristina Lucas at Albarrán Bourdais
Exhibitions
Two exhibitions of Luis Gordillo set the tone for me. Gordillo, a towering figure in Spanish contemporary art but still under-recognized internationally, was celebrated in two shows: at carlier | gebauer, his works on paper from the 1960s–1990s were shown alongside artists like Philip Guston, Amy Sillman, and Julie Mehretu; and at Prats Nogueras Blanchard, his bold new paintings took center stage. Together, they showed how vital and influential his work remains.
Luis Gordillo at Prats Nogueras Blanchard
Luis Gordillo at carlier | gebauer with Philip Guston and Julie Mehretu
Highlights
Bárbara Pérez Marina at Espacio Valverde
Sculptures and material-driven works with a quiet but commanding presence.
Maru Quiñonero at Alzueta Gallery
Minimalist paintings with sharp color and form, confident in their simplicity.
Donna Huanca at Travesía Cuatro
Her beautiful paintings were surrounded by an immersive performance on opening night that turned the gallery into a complete environment.
Eduardo Sarabia at Veta
in Mi Gente, portraits of friends are blurred and stained, a metaphor for the prejudice and fear surrounding immigration and identity. Political and personal at once, it was one of the most resonant shows of the weekend.
Madrid Gallery Weekend delivered more than just strong shows. It underscored how galleries, artists, and audiences can come together to build momentum for contemporary art — and why Madrid’s scene is becoming increasingly important on the international stage.
