MORE PLANES, FASTER TRAINS, AN EXPO AND EUROGAMES
CaixaForum Opens; Madrid Presents Goya, Modigliani, Picasso
MADRID, Spain, February 25, 2008 – Last year American visitors to Spain were up an impressive 22 percent – and total arrivals grew as well, to 59.2 million. This year with more airline service and faster trains, it will be easier than ever for Americans to visit. And there’s a lot to entice them. Zaragoza will host a summer-long international expo and Barcelona will welcome the Eurogames. Last year Valencia played host to the America’s Cup, and this year will be the venue for a European Formula One Grand Prix. Art is everywhere – from Romanesque and Renaissance to Surrealist and Minimalism – as the country’s museums have been expanding to show more of their treasures.
The Big Event
Zaragoza is gearing up for the International Expo to take place June 14 to September 14 with more than 100 countries participating under the theme: “Water and Sustainable Development.” With six million visitors expected, the expo is forecast to bring in $1.2 billion in tourism revenues to Spain’s fifth largest city. A collection of singular buildings and public spaces designed by an impressive roster of architects – including the Bridge Pavilion by Zaha Hadid – has risen beside the Ebro River. Non-stop entertainment is planned with 3,400 shows featuring renowned artists and groups such as: Daniel Barenboim, Montserrat Caballé, the Carolyn Carson Dance Company, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, with Zubin Mehta. Every day a parade created by Cirque du Soleil™ will snake through the Expo’s grounds.
New Cultural Centers, Expanded Museums and Art Exhibitions
Last week, Madrid’s newest cultural center, the $96 million CaixaForum was inaugurated by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía. Designed by Herzog and de Meuron, the seven-story complex will present art exhibitions, music and poetry festivals, film screenings, conferences and workshops. An eye-catching vertical “garden” covers one side of its façade. And now that the city’s three major museums have doubled in size, they are mounting major shows to display works from their extensive collections.
¨ Continuing to celebrate its $208 million expansion, the Museo del Prado will present, “Goya in Times of War,” a major exhibition focusing on the last 25 years of the artist’s life. Running from April 15 to July 13, the exhibition, which coincides with the 200th anniversary of the start of the Spanish War of Independence, will have about 60 works including two great canvasses, the 2nd and 3rd of May 1809 in Madrid, which were recently cleaned and restored. “Portraits of the Renaissance” (6/03-9/07), organized with the National Gallery in London, will showcase European Renaissance paintings from the 15th and 16th century.
¨ The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is presenting “Modigliani and His Time” through May 18. With 130 works, the show analyzes the career of this great 20th century figure, juxtaposing works by others who influenced him like Cézanne, Picasso, Brancusi and Chagall, Soutine and Zadkine.
¨ Currently the Reina Sofía has an exceptional exhibition on through May 5 with some 400 paintings, sculptures, ceramics, drawings, prints and notebooks from the “Collection of the Musée National Picasso in Paris.”
¨ The Juan March Foundation is presenting “MAXImin: Maximum Minimization in Contemporary Art,” through May 25 with 110 works by 82 artists in collaboration with the Damier Art Collection, Stuttgart.
¨ Last fall, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao celebrated its 10th anniversary with “Art in USA: 300 Years of Innovation,” that continues to April 27. “Surreal Things” runs February 29 to September 7 and a major show, “
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