THE APARTMENT AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DECADE
Década, Volumes I and II, fully capture the essence of El Apartamento gallery’s tenth anniversary celebration. This milestone is marked by two group exhibitions featuring works by artists represented at both its original location in Havana and its Madrid branch. The series began in Havana with Volume I and continued in Madrid with Volume II.
Together, these exhibitions highlight a connection that transcends time and geography, using the artists’ works to reflect on the gallery’s evolution and the broader artistic landscape over the past decade. With the simple yet powerful premise of emphasizing El Apartamento’s guiding vision and philosophy, the participating artists offer their interpretations of the gallery’s ten-year journey.
The two volumes of Década serve as both an archive and a tribute—documenting the gallery’s collaborations, milestones, and its continuous efforts to elevate contemporary Cuban art. At the same time, El Apartamento’s international growth has expanded its scope beyond Cuba, bringing in Spanish artists whose contributions have further enriched this artistic dialogue.
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Vista de la exposición Década Vol II en El Apartamento. Fotografía: Cha Baeza
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Vista de la exposición Década Vol II en El Apartamento. Fotografía: Cha Baeza
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Vista de la exposición Década Vol II en El Apartamento. Fotografía: Cha Baeza
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Vista de la exposición Década Vol II en El Apartamento. Fotografía: Cha Baeza
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Vista de la exposición Década Vol II en El Apartamento. Fotografía: Cha Baeza
Década. Volume II embodies the gallery’s ongoing construction—of memory, of space, of identity. The exhibition in Madrid presents works that explore themes of memory and spatiality, uniting seminal Cuban artists like José Bedía (Havana, Cuba, 1959) and Carlos Garaicoa (Havana, Cuba, 1967) with younger voices that enhance the collective momentum while asserting their individuality.
Importantly, the show avoids rigid historical hierarchies. Emerging artists such as Reynier Leyva Novo (Havana, Cuba, 1983), Miren Doiz (Pamplona, Spain, 1980), and Ariamna Contino (Havana, Cuba, 1984) are positioned as key contributors to this dual narrative—one that embraces continuity while embracing change.
Década. Volume II is on view through August 3 at El Apartamento, Puebla 4, Madrid (Spain).
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INTERVIEW WITH JULIA MORANDEIRA
By Álvaro de Benito
Julia Morandeira Arrizabalaga (Bilbao, Spain, 1986) is in her first year at the Reina Sofía Museum as Director of Studies, a position she has held since October 2024 and which, since March of this year, she has combined with the directorship of the Instituto Cáder de Arte Centroamericano (ICAC). This organization faces several challenges in its core missions of raising awareness and promoting, but above all, researching and disseminating the reality of contemporary Central American art. It has ten years ahead of it to do so, and the foundations are already being laid to ensure that its objectives are met. Morandeira welcomes us to her office at the Reina Sofía, a few floors above the building that houses the library and which marks its character and connection with divulgation, to talk about the project, her vision, and the progress and future that are already taking shape.
A GAZE INTO SALVADORAN AUDIOVISUAL ART AT THE REINA SOFÍA
From June 19 to 28, Madrid’s Reina Sofía Museum will host Los reyes de la página roja (The Kings of the Red Page), a program dedicated to contemporary audiovisual productions from El Salvador. Part of the series Other Visions of Central America, this selection has been curated by Salvadoran artist Patricio Majano, this year’s resident at the Instituto Cáder de Arte Centroamericano—an initiative promoted by the Reina Sofía Museum Foundation and the museum itself to support research and dissemination of Central American art.
ART, COMMUNITY, AND ECOLOGY IN THE MYSTICISM OF THE JAGUAR, AT THE MUSEUM OF AMERICA
By Álvaro de Benito
The Museum of America in Madrid is hosting El sueño del jaguar (The Dream of the Jaguar), an exhibition curated by visual artist Fredi Casco (Asunción, Paraguay, 1967) and photographer Fernando Allen (Asunción, Paraguay, 1957), which brings together artistic, ethnographic, and scientific perspectives on the jaguar and its symbolic and ecological significance.
INTERVIEW WITH MANUEL SEGADE
By Álvaro de Benito
Manuel Segade (La Coruña, Spain, 1977) celebrates two years this month at the helm of Spain’s largest public museum of contemporary art. Since taking over as director of the Reina Sofía, he has implemented a series of exhibition and institutional strategies that have gradually shaped the museum’s strong personality and clear direction. In addition to progress on gender and feminist issues, decolonial thinking plays an important role in his vision—always from a perspective that necessarily looks to both sides of the Atlantic. Segade never seems to lose his enthusiasm, as evidenced by his expression and way of speaking. He welcomes us into his office at the Reina Sofía to finalize ideas and details, and to discuss the museum’s positioning and approach regarding Latin America.
MYTH AND RESISTANCE IN NEREYDA LÓPEZ AND SANTIAGO YAHUARCANI, AT THE CBA
By Álvaro de Benito
The Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid presents Somos raíces (We Are Roots), an exploration of the creative worlds of Santiago Yahuarcani (Pucaurquillo, Peru, 1960) and Nereyda López (Pebas, Peru, 1965), two of the most prominent figures in contemporary indigenous art. Both artists draw from the oral traditions and cosmologies of their respective peoples—the Uitoto in Yahuarcani’s case, and the Tikuna and Cocama in López’s—to give voice to languages of resistance.
