Once you’ve visited the three famous art museums, Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza, there are still many exciting art experiences waiting for you in Madrid.
1 Espacio Solo
Set in a gigantic, multi-story mansion, an art experience in Madrid awaits with surprises, humor, seriousness and reflection.
In the Salamanca neighborhood, just opposite the Retiro Park, Espacio SOLO is located above cafés and restaurants. You need to know the address to find the art collection, privately owned and established by Spanish industrialist Ana Gervás and entertainment director David Cantolla seven years ago.
The couple wants to highlight the diversity of modern art around the world. Today, they have collected over 1000 works by 270 artists in the Colleccíon SOLO project. Selected works are shown to the public in changing exhibitions in the Espacio SOLO exhibition space.
In the hallway, I am greeted by a spacy figure wearing a sequined suit and a red brush head. The work “Sound Suit” was created by American artist Nick Cave, not to be confused with the famous Australian singer of the same name.
The figure is part of Espacio SOLO’s exhibition “Handle with Care”, which is on the program at the time of writing and runs until December 2024. If you visit from January 2025, a new exhibition awaits you. The current exhibition features works by 60 artists from around the world, and like all Espacio SOLO exhibitions, it invites you to reflect on the relationship between the works, the observer, the spaces and the history of the project.
The exhibition includes visual art, sculptures, installations, video and sound art and AI, and genres and styles are mixed as we move through the exhibition in labyrinthine rooms. Some of the rooms are designed as living rooms, with the works integrated into the décor.
Works by Danish artists Tal R, Simmons, Jordy Kerwick, Vanessa Barragão, Rinus Van de Velde, Danny Fox, Izumi Kato, Chino Moya and Operator.
The Espacio is only accessible on free guided tours booked on the website four days in advance.
Espacio SOLO, Plaza de la Independencia 5
2 Galería de las Colecciones Reales
The Royal Art Gallery, which opened in 2023, doesn’t look like much when you stand outside and look at it. Especially not next to the gigantic royal palace, which the gallery is an extension of.
Once inside, however, a gigantic three-story building built into the cliff face is revealed. The entire 40,000 square meters is dedicated to art from the country’s castles.
It took 30 years to build the award-winning building, and along the way, remains from the Moorish era were discovered. A time from which very little remains in Madrid.
Over 650 works have now moved into the building, including paintings, tapestries, sculptures, furniture, decorative arts and means of transportation. Among them are works by European masters such as Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Titian and Caravaggio.
The exhibition is divided chronologically with rooms dedicated to the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties, among others. Among the main works are Velázquez’s painting “White Horse” (1634-38), Caravaggio’s painting “Salome with the Head of John the Baptist” (1607) and Luisa Roldán’s sculpture “Saint Michael Slays the Devil” (1692).
When you visit the museum, be sure to enjoy the view of the Casa de Campo park and the city from the panoramic windows between floors.
Galería de las Colecciones Reales, C/ de Bailén 8
3 Tabacalera
It’s impossible to miss the gigantic factory building in Madrid’s multicultural Lavapiés neighborhood. The outer walls of the large corner plot are packed with street art, with both local and international artists frolicking around.
La Tabacalera is housed in the city’s former tobacco factory, where thousands of women once sat and chopped tobacco. Today, the buildings house a cultural center whose facade is worth a visit in itself.
“It’s a Jungle in here”, reads the text on one of the works on the wall. And inside the cultural center is a fascinating and vibrant jungle of creative workshops, sports rooms, underground corridors with rehearsal rooms and a gallery. It also hosts regular events.
If the door to the workshops is open (it’s not always), take a look inside and head down to the basement to explore the murals and small workshops.
La Tabacalera, Embajadores 53
4 La Neomudejar
“This is not the real world. These are the spaces for creators, the crazy, the quiet, a place of freedom,” reads the sign on the door of La Neomudéjar Museum. Welcome to a world where young avant-garde artists are allowed to frolic in raw spaces with high ceilings – both artistically and physically.
La Neomudejar is located at Madrid’s main train station, Atocha, in a building that was once the terminus and unloading station for freight trains. The art museum is named after the architectural style of the building. The space has retained its industrial look and still contains old train cars, traffic lights, tools and interiors from the station.
The art blends in well with the old, raw building and includes paintings, photography, video and installations. La Neomudejar houses a collection of around 1500 works by Spanish artists such as Ciria, Marina Nuñez, Nassio Bayarri, Carmen Isasi, Antonio Alvarado and Ana Marcos.
The intention of the museum is to focus on the artist and break previous paradigms, which makes the museum interesting to explore. La Neomudejar is a great place to explore what’s happening in the young Spanish avant-garde scene.
La Neomudejar also has a small café and bookstore where they sell self-published books and catalogs. In addition, it regularly organizes workshops, festivals and film screenings.
La Neomudejar, Antonio Nebrija, s/n
5 Museo ABC
In Madrid’s Conde Douque neighborhood, close to Plaza de España, is the overlooked Museo ABC, housed in an 1891 building that used to house Spanish beer brand Mahou’s first factory in Madrid.
Museo ABC is dedicated to illustration and drawing and houses a collection of 150,000 works in all styles by 500 artists. The museum has large exhibition spaces and the collection includes works from the period 1890 to the present day, and you can experience Spanish art by artists such as Almudena Lobera, Narcisco Mendez Bringa, Francisco Lopez Rubio and Miguel Gila.
It hosts changing exhibitions. Past exhibitions have focused on themes such as Spanish cities, Madrid in black and white, local festivals and children’s art. Some of the works have been published in Blanco Negro Magazine and Diario ABC. At the time of writing, you can experience an exhibition about water in Seville.
Museo ABC is a wondrous journey into the world of illustration and comics, and a fun and insightful journey through genre trends and contemporary issues.
Museo ABC, C/ Amaniel 29
6 Palacio Velazquez in Retiro Park
The finest tiles adorn the façade of the Velazquéz Palace and two lion sculptures welcome you at the staircase of the neoclassical palace built in the 1880s. The palace is located in Madrid’s famous Retiro Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was created for a World’s Fair and today it houses changing exhibitions hosted by Madrid’s Museum of Modern Art, Reina Sofia.
I always pop into Palacio Velazquéz when I visit the park because I’m never disappointed by the exhibitions, which feature interesting, modern – and often quirky – international artists.
It has previously hosted exhibitions by, among others. Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, Juan Muñoz and José Manuel Broto. The image is from the palace’s latest exhibition “Perfect is the Question” by American conceptual and performance artist James Lee Byras (1932-1997), which I visited in July 2024.
Palacio de Velázquez, Retiro Park
