16 Catalan galleries exhibit at Arco Madrid International Contemporary Art Fair

Arco Madrid International Contemporary Art Fair opens on Wednesday with a significant Catalan presence. 

Sixteen Catalan galleries will take part in the industry event which runs from March 5 to 9: Mayoral, Àngels Barcelona, Chiquita Room, Bombon Projects, etHall, Alegría, House of Chappaz, Marc Domènech, Prats Nogueras Blanchard, Miguel Marcos, Polígrafa Obra Gràfica, ProjectesD, Rociosantacruz, Florit/Florit, Senda and ADN. 

Artists with works at the fair include Jaume Plensa, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Yago Hortal, Daniel G. Andújar, and Esther Ferrer. 

Eugenio Merino's work for ADN superimposes images of populist and far right leaders – including Donald Trump, Giorgia Meloni, Elon Musk and Santiago Abascal – onto plates and places them in a dishwasher to draw attention to whitewashing of the issue around the world.

"We need to reflect on how we all play an important role in whitewashing the image of the far right. It often gets ahead because we make it very easy for it," the manager of the gallery, Jordi Vernis, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Photographers such as Pilar Aymerich, Colita and Joan Fontcuberta will also feature at the fair.

A total of 214 galleries from 36 countries will turn Madrid into the international capital of contemporary art this week, with 178 galleries in the general program.