MADRID.- Art Madrid’s Fifth edition closed its doors with great public success and significant levels of institutional purchases and private collectors. In a complex year for the contemporary art world, Art Madrid consolidates as an essential meeting point for contemporary Spanish art, increasing the number of visitors to 37,000, almost 20% more than last year, with sales exceeding those of the previous edition.

Excels the great increase in purchases by private contemporary Spanish art collectors. The effort made by the organization of the fair, giving more presence to the works of young artists with the Young Art program, has been rewarded, because a significant portion of sales have been directed towards them, with authors such as Sito Mújica, Samuel Salcedo, Ramón Suruinyac, Xurxo Gómez-Chao, Neves Seara, Malinsky, Verbis, Regina Jiménez, Rosell Meseguer, Aníbal Merlo, Pablo Valle, Carlos Salazar, Juan Carlos Toro or David Escalona.

Also there have been purchases of more established Spanish artists, like Carlos Pazos, Esther Ferrer, Curro Ulzurrun, Hugo Fontela, Ramiro Fernández Saus, Luis Mayo, David Latorre or Teo Soriano, and the big names in contemporary art (Francesco Clemente, Eva Lootz, Valdés, Plensa, Equipo Crónica, Evru, Tàpies, Miró, Lucio Muñoz, Bonifacio, Luis Gordillo, Ciria, Sicilia, Genovés or Uslé), among many others.

A total of 65 galleries were present in the fair, about 90% of them Spanish, and the visitors could acquire works of 440 Spanish and international artists. Art Madrid consolidates this year as a focal point on the artistic agenda and stands out as a clear alternative for contemporary Spanish art collectors. At the same time, the fair reinforces their complementary nature with other fairs, thus helping to turn Madrid into an international art capital and helping to attract thousands of visitors to the city.

For the first time Art Madrid parchases some Works for the Art Madrid Collection of Unique Works on Paper. The authors and pieces selected have been:

• Sito Mújica: “Wai Lin Tse”. Watercolor on paper. 2009.

• David Escalona: Untitled. Mixed media. 2009.

• Curro Ulzurrun: Untitled. Mixed media. 2009.

• Carlos Salazar Arenas: Untitled. Acrylic on paper. 2008.

This year, Art Madrid has attracted greater attention than in previous editions by press media. Have been accredited and visited the fair over 400 national and international journalists and critics from Portugal, Argentina, Britain, France, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico and United States, also resulting in the appearance of many reviews, articles or critics on radio, television, newspapers, national and international magazines and digital media.

Regarding its sixth edition, next year Art Madrid´s organizers will emphasize its search for a greater quality in the proposed exhibition galleries. Thus it will create an external selection committee and will look for independent artistic advisors for the various programs to be carried out.