MADRID, SPAIN.- The success of the second edition confirms that Art Madrid is filling an important gap in the contemporary art market in Spain. The second edition of the Salón de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo Art Madrid, held from 15 to 19 February in the Pabellón de Cristal in the Casa de Campo, closed last Monday following resounding commercial and public success. According to the organisers and based on information provided by the participating galleries, sales of works of art totalled more than 20 million Euros, a 3-fold increase on last year’s sales of 7 million Euros. More than 23,000 visitors attended the event, representing a 50% rise on the first edition of the fair. Art Madrid 07 saw the participation of 78 galleries, compared to 50 last year, representing the work of more than 800 artists from around the world.

Sales focused on works by leading names of the classic avant-garde, such as Picasso, Miró, Ernst, Delaunay, Klein, Wilfredo Lam, Appel and Many Ray, along with others by Warhol, Pierre et Gilles, Mapplethorpe, Donald Sultan and John de Andrea, among others. With regard to Spanish art, particularly in demand were works by Feito, Canogar, Tàpies, Saura, Equipo Crónica, Valdés and Carmen Calvo. Also important was the emphasis on art by young creators, both Spanish and international. These outstanding results both with regard to visitor numbers and sales, were warmly received by the participating galleries, most of whom will be applying to attend again next year.

The success of the second edition confirms that Art Madrid is filling an important gap in the contemporary art market in Spain, in which certain groups of collectors and artists were not previously catered for.

As has been proven, a fair such as Art Madrid has helped to raise the profile of Madrid within the contemporary art world in February, at a time when various contemporary art fairs are being held in the city, as well as a wide range of exhibitions organised by leading institutions and museums, activities in art galleries, street exhibitions etc. This brings Madrid into line with other cities such as Basel, London and Miami.

The exceptional response from the public is an indication of the interest that Art Madrid has aroused, and visitors attended in large numbers, particularly on the Saturday and Sunday, without, however, excessively crowding the aisles in the Pabellón de Cristal. This fact was particularly appreciated by the public.

The interest in the fair was reflected in the very high numbers of accredited journalists, with more than 300 Spanish and international media representatives (from Portugal, France, Germany, Great Britain, the US, Serbia, Taiwan, Mexico, Hungary, Holland and Brazil). Special programmes were devoted to the event on Spanish radio (COPE) as well as live tv features (Tele 5) from inside the fair and reports on it (Antena 3, Atlas TV, Onda 6, Net TV, etc.), just to mention some of the numerous reports in the Spanish press and on radio and television.

Art Madrid was sponsored by Alfa Romeo, who designed a special tour taking in the most important works on the stand of every gallery and which proved very popular with visitors. In addition, Alfa Romeo made 20 of their top-range vehicles available for transporting visitors and invited guests.

The organisers of Art Madrid would like to apologise for the problems encountered by visitors in reaching the Casa de Campo fairground, due to construction work on the nearby M-30.