Nic at the Plaza Mayor with all the other tourists

Not only did I thoroughly enjoy my first visit to the city of Madrid, I loved visiting the fair. Sure, I was not so excited about the IKEA VIP lounge, but I was certainly introduced to some new galleries and more importantly, some artists I did not know about but whose work I quite liked. Here are some highlights:

ARCO:

Signage for Solo Projects

The Dutch Pavilion- a structure for talks, etc.

Heineken sponsored lounge area

Tony drinking a gin and tomic out of a goblet (preferred drink of choice in Madrid) in the Bombay Sapphire Lounge

At Madrid gallery, Travesia Cuarto’s booth-a very cool installation

Jorge Mendez Blake, Mallarme's Library, 2011, metal, wood, mirror, resin, plexiglas, and drawing, 95 x 180 x 150 cm

At Espacio Minimo’s booth, an interactive Olaf piece filled the space in which the viewer sits in a chair, dons headphones and peeps through a keyhole at video of a man’s intimate interaction with a child on one side and a woman’s on the other.

Erwin Olaf, The Keyhole, 2012

Spanish gallery Formatacomodo had my favorite works in the fair–abstract and hard to define with candy colors. I fell in love with their cartoon-like qualities.

Guillermo Mora, Casi tres, 2011

Guillermo Mora, Gemelos, 2011, mixed media

Mora, detail

At Galerie Krinzinger bright colors of de la Cruz’s work drew viewers into the booth.

Angela de la Cruz, Transfer (Fuchsia), 2011. armchair, wood, paint, box and chair

Max Estrella’s booth was filled with amazing works and this painting in particular grabbed my attention. My crappy photo does not begin to do its sumptuous surface justice.

Nico Munuera

And what evening in Madrid is complete without a visit to the art world after hours spot: Bar Cock

Nic outside of Bar Cock...look up

Interior of Bar Cock

Interior of Bar Cock

Nic and her new friend, Jose Maria

Nic making friends all over the world