ARCO 2022 · a much desired normalcy
Alberto Carneiro - Trajecto dum corpo - 1976-1977Nour Jaouda - Wind is the Compass of the Strangers North - detail - 2021
ARCOmadrid 2022 returns to its usual dates and pays tribute to the galleries that have accompanied it during its four decades of existence.
Images: Alberto Carneiro, "Trajecto dum corpo", 1976-1977. Courtesy 3+1 Arte Contemporânea ·· Nour Jaouda, "Wind is the Compass of the Stranger's North" (detail), 2021. Courtesy eastcontemporary.
From 23 to 27 February, ARCOmadrid art fair celebrates what it has called its 40 (+1) Anniversary, bringing together a total of 185 galleries from 30 countries. The architect Pedro Pitarch, in charge of designing the fair's exhibition space, explains that "ARCO 40 (+1) is conceived as an imaginary museum. An intervention that proposes the inversion of the spatial logics of art fairs. As opposed to a traditional layout, in which the space of each gallery is normally perceived as an exterior accessible from a corridor; ARCO 40 (+1) is conceived as a purely interior experience, as a sequence of concatenated rooms that import the museum context into the fair".
As usual, the fair has a General Programme, in which 159 of the 185 participating galleries are present, as well as several curated sections. For one of these sections, ARCO 40 (+1) Anniversary, the fair has invited 19 galleries that have been present at ARCOmadrid throughout its trajectory. In this "tribute to loyalty", the section also focuses on the relationship between gallery and artist, showing works by creators who, after the passing of the decades, continue to be linked to the same gallery, such as Gilbert & George with Thaddaeus Ropac.
In contrast to this selection of "old acquaintances", the "Opening by Allianz" section presents 15 galleries that "either because of their short trajectory or because they are novel for the Spanish context, present interesting proposals allowing to discover other creators", including galleries that are participating in the fair for the first time, such as Anne-Sarah Bénichou, East Contemporary, Intersticio and Sperling, which present the work of artists such as Nour Jaouda, Wynnie Minerva, Andreia Santan or Pauline Guerrier. For its part, the section "Never the same. Latin American Art" shows a selection of 9 Latin American artists from 8 international galleries.

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