ARCOmadrid 2026
RocioSantaCruz’s proposal for ARCOmadrid 2026 puts forward a re-reading of landscape, nature and memory, understood as dynamic imaginaries that can be constantly rewritten.
Within the body of works, landscape is not merely a “locus amoenus,” but an inner substratum from which to articulate reflections on identity, territoriality, and ways of inhabiting. A territory conceived as creative matter that embraces radically contemporary themes: ecology, sustainability, rurality, and, ultimately, our relationship with the environment.
Under these premises, works by Jean Denant and Lluís Hortalà are presented, approaching landscape as a space of sensitivity. They question the human imprint on the environment, reflect on its extractive effects and, in doing so, convey the urgency of rethinking our relationship with “the natural,” which in fact forms part of ourselves.
Recent works by Teresa Gancedo, Oriol Vilapuig and Antón Lamazares are presented. Taken together, they deconstruct fragments of landscape through images and breathe new life into them through the beings, secrets and thoughts that inhabit them, beyond the walls of civilisation and culture, as John Fowles suggests.
Fina Miralles, the most recent recipient of the National Prize for Fine Arts, is a pioneer in immersing herself in the aura of nature, seeking within it her roots as a woman. Her work—performative and critical—understands the medium as an experience traversed by the body, action and thought, positioning it as a space of intimate resistance against cultural impositions.
Gonzalo Elvira recreates the architectural landscape with utopian nuances, the result of archival research into a project that was never built. In this way, an open landscape is activated, one that transcends its condition as a tangible object.
Following one of the gallery’s defining axes—the work with historical photographic archives and contemporary authors, with special attention to women—the works of Virxilio Viéitez and Lúa Ribeira are presented. The former is a master of psychological depth in portraiture. The works shown here were produced during the Spanish post–Civil War period. Lúa Ribeira, a member of Magnum Photos, represents one of the most compelling new voices in contemporary photography. Both Galician, they offer a singular perspective on rurality and social landscapes.
The social dimension is also present in the photographs of Pilar Aymerich, which challenge established norms and open up debates around constructions of gender, social struggles, and key historical moments of the final decades of the 20th century.
Colita and Toni Amengual invite reflection on the capture of natural, urban, and social landscapes and settings. Through distinct visual languages, they materialise the gaze as a construction that expands the boundaries of the photographic image.
The proposal is completed with an artist project dedicated to the renowned photographer Ouka Leele, whose works are consistently rich in metaphor and magical analogies.
Preview ARCOmadrid 2026 – Stand 7A14
With the collaboration of:
