art

Gallery shows and events in Madrid this month

Pick of the month:Viaje Alrededor de Carlos Berlanga

Sala El Águila
C/Ramírez de Prado, 3 (Metro: Delicias) Tel: 91 720 88 48. Tues-Sat 11am-2pm, 5-8pm; Sun 11am-2pm. Free. Until 7 Mar.
A key player in La Movida, the Madrid-based artistic explosion of film, music and art in the early 80s, Carlos Berlanga performed alongside Alaska and Nacho Canut in the bands Kaka de Luxe, Los Pegamoides and Dinarama. But Berlanga was also an illustrator, painter, graphic designer and creator of deliciously acerbic comic strips as this uplifting show attests. Alaska, now lead vocalist in electronic outfit Fangoria, explains why Berlanga’s work is important: “First of all, a multi-faceted artist is always more interesting to me than a great artisan only working in one field. Even more so if they are self-taught. What’s more, you have to look at the fact that Carlos’s body of work is a reflection of his tastes, obsessions and influences, and hence of the tastes, obsessions and influences of a series of artists that shared a moment and place in the history of art.” Organised by the Comunidad de Madrid to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Berlanga’s birth in 1959, the exhibition brings together the Madrid-born artist’s Jean Cocteau-esque paintings; his posters for Almodóvar’s film Matador and Kaka de Luxe concerts; fanzines; portraits of Berlanga by other scenester photographers; hand-written lyrics; letters;, postcards and the comic strips of the society ladies who make Dynasty’s Alexis Colby look like Little Bo Peep. It’s these comics that Alaska says she best likes today—“for their aesthetic (a mix of the legacy of the 20th century) and
narrative sense. For the creation of these angular feminine characters, these mega-perverse, multi-millionaire, hyperfrivolous, super-bad women.”

Museo del Prado
Pº del Prado, s/n (Metro: Atocha). Tel: 91 330 28 00. Tues-Sun 9am-8pm. €8 Tue-Sat 6-8pm; Free Sun 5-8pm. www.museodelprado.es
Holandeses en el Prado Dutch paintings from the collections of Philip IV and Charles II, the Bourbons and private bequests. Until 11 Apr.

Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
C/Santa Isabel, 52 (Metro: Atocha). Tel: 91 774 10 00. Mon-Sat 10am-9pm; Tues closed; Sun 10am-2.30pm. €6, concs €3; free Sat 2.30pm-9pm and Sun 10am-2.30pm. www.museoreinasofia.es
Georges Vantongerloo. Un Anhelo de Infinito Sculptor, painter, architect and art-theorist Vantongerloo devoted his life to depicting the universe’s energy through his paintings and plexi-glass sculptures. Radiation, attraction and repulsion, electromagnetism—it’s all covered. Until 22 Feb.

Francisco López. Sin Título #223 An eight-minute sound installation by Spanish electronic and experimental music pioneer Francisco López in the dimly lit metallic corridor at the top of the Reina Sofía’s Edificio Nouvel. Until 29 Mar.

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
P° del Prado, 8 (Metro: Banco de España). Tel: 91 369 01 51. Tues-Sun 10am-7pm. €7. www.museothyssen.org
Monet y la Abstracción The Thyssen again teams up with Fundación Caja Madrid to bring us an exhibition that examines Claude Monet’s influence on American abstract painters after World War II. Alongside Monet’s famous paintings of his garden at Giverny—where he spent the last 20 years of his life—and others from this final period will be works by contemporary abstract artists such as Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. The second half of the exhibition is at Fundación Caja Madrid, Plaza de San Martín, 1 (Metro: Sol/Opera/Callao). Tel: 902 246 810. Tues-Sun 10am-8pm. Free. 23 Feb-30 May.

Círculo de Bellas Artes
C/Alcalá, 42 (Metro: Sevilla/Banco de España). Tel: 91 360 54 00. Tues-Sat 11am-2pm, 5-9pm; Sun 11am-2pm. €1. www.circulobellasartes.com
Ricky Dávila, Ibérica Dávila attempts to document Spain’s changing society with more than 100 portraits of its inhabitants. Until 28 Mar

Other galleries
Impresionismo, Un Nuevo Renacimiento The history of Impressionism traced via a series of paintings on loan from the Musée d´Orsay, Paris. Manet is presented as the backbone and founding father of Impressionism, while works by Degas, Monet, Renoir, and Cezanne also feature. Fundación Mapfre, P° de Recoletos, 23 (Metro: Banco de España). Tel: 91 581 61 00. Mon 2-8pm; Tues-Sat 10am-8pm; Sun noon-8pm. Free. Until 22 Apr.

Federico Clavarino and Alejandro Marote On 1 February these two young Madrid-based photographers will plaster the city with 5,000 postcards depicting one of their images. “We want to use a format that’s usually used for publicity, but without communicating anything outside of the image itself,” explains Federico. “We want to escape from the official art and photography circuit, like galleries, magazines and museums. We believe our images have to be seen by everyone, including those who don’t usually go to these spaces. Galleries and museums are to art what cemeteries are to men. They’re good for remembering the dead. We think our art can connect with people in their real lives, coming to them as something unexpected and inexplicable.” The postcards will be in bars, at the mouth of the metro, along Gran Vía, you name it. And each month for the next 10 months the pair will choose a new image and do it all over again. “Madrid,” Federico adds, “is the first stage.” See www.alejandromarote.com and www.yurijgagarin.blogspot.com.

Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957) English painter and writer Wyndham Lewis co-founded the Vorticist movement—a combination of Cubism and Futurism. In 1918 TS Eliot described Lewis as the most fascinating personality of our time, and in 1932 painter—and Jack the Ripper suspect—Walter Sickert said he was the most important portrait painter ever. Lewis’s first retrospective in Spain brings together 150 of his works, 60 books and 10 magazines. Fundación Juan March, C/Castelló, 77 (Metro: Nuñez de Balboa). Tel: 91 435 42 40. Mon-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11am-2pm. Free. 5 Feb-16 May.

Shirin Neshat: Games of Desire Iran-born artist Shirin Neshat has filmed couples taking part in a traditional courtship ritual in Laos in which men and women recite and improvise songs back and forth to each other. Projected on separate channels we have the would-be lovers facing each other and the crowds of onlookers egging the couples on. La Fábrica, C/Alameda, 9 (Metro: Atocha). Tel: 91 360 13 25. Tues-Sat 11am-2pm, 4.30-8.30pm. Free. 4 Feb-20 Mar.

Studio Franchise North American pop artist Ryan McGinness has used Facebook to recruit 40 doppelgängers to work in five-day shifts under his guidance in a studio in La Casa Encendida. The space, inspired by his New York studio, will be open to the public during the Encendida’s opening hours. The silk-screens produced by these copycat McGinnesses will be displayed in a second sala—a space full of empty frames, sketches, stairs, boxes, setting-up materials and tools. The silk-screens and paintings will be made to specifications laid out by McGinness and therefore, according to Pop Art lore, will be original McGinnesses. The concept plays with the idea of production-line art and art as a trendy brand as practised by the likes of Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. There will also be a third space where you can see some of McGinness’s latest work. See the McGinness doubles at work in five-day blocks from 5 February to 4 March, 10am-3pm and 5pm-10pm. La Casa Encendida, Ronda de Valencia, 2 (Metro: Embajadores). Tel: 902 43 03 22. 10am-10pm. Free. 4 Feb-4 Apr.

theatre

La Ratonera
Running continuously in London theatres since 1952, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap takes place in a secluded manor house recently converted into a hotel. The characters include the couple who own the place, four guests, a man who shows up after getting stuck in a ditch and a detective who suspects a murderer may be in their midst. Director Víctor Conde updates this classic whodunit. Teatro Reina Victoria, Carrera de San Jeronimo, 24 (Metro: Sevilla/Sol). Tickets (entradas.com) €12-€20. Wed-Fri 8pm; Sat 7pm, 10pm; Sun 5pm, 8pm. Ongoing.

Garrick
Feeling blue after the holiday festivities? Here’s the perfect solution: a show presented by three men in white scientist coats who have the sole aim of making you laugh. An homage to David Garrick, the 18th-century English actor who could be considered the first laughter therapist, the performance presents a selection of hilarious sketches demonstrating the physiology of humour and how to provoke it. Teatro Compac Gran Vía, C/Gran Vía, 66 (Metro: Plaza de España, Callao). Tel: 91 559 95 66. Tickets (entradas.com, elcorteingles.es) €20-€38. Wed-Fri 8.30pm; Sat 7.30pm, 10pm; Sun 6pm. Until 21 Mar.

Patito Feo
Having sold over 200,000 tickets in Latin America and 120,000 in Italy, this musical based on the Emmy-nominated Disney Channel show arrives in Madrid. Patito, played by Argentinian actress Laura Esquivel, is a young girl who is not particularly attractive but has an amazing voice. While struggling to achieve her dream of becoming a famous singer, she also searches for her father and experiences first love. Madrid Arena, Avda de Portugal, Casa de Campo, s/n (Metro: Lago/Alto de Extremadura). Tickets (entradas.com) €29-€59. Sat, Sun 7.30pm. 13-14 Feb.

Andersen, El Musical de los Cuentos
Over 200 years since his birth, Hans Christian Andersen’s tales continue to impress young readers. In this musical, young Madrileño writer-director Jesús Sanz-Sebastián combines the Danish writer’s stories to create a new fairytale for the whole family. Teatro Häagen-Dazs Calderón, C/Atocha, 18 (Metro: Tirso de Molina/Sol). Tickets (entradas.com, elcorteingles.es) €22. Sat 4pm; Sun noon. 6 Feb-28 Mar.

La Nevera, el Cuchillo y el Mechero
After the death of the father, a down-on-their-luck family uses his conserved thumb to receive a subsidy that allows them to support themselves. Four years later, the father returns from the dead to reclaim what is his and finds his family enwrapped in a cycle of greed and selfishness. This black comedy by Carlos Bernal, who also co-directs the production, is actually based on a true story! Teatro Alfil, C/Pez, 10 (Metro: Noviciado/Tribunal/Callao). Tel: 91 521 45 41. Tickets (91 521 58 27, entradas.com) €15-€18. Thur-Sun 8.30pm; Sat 6.30pm, 8.30pm. Until 21 Feb.

Toc Toc
Running since September, this comedy follows six characters with different obsessive-compulsive disorders (in Spanish, trastornos obsesivos compulsivos or TOCs) who meet in a famous psychiatrist’s office. Although the doctor is unable to prescribe a treatment, the patients eventually come to their own solutions. Director Esteve Ferrer’s play delicately addresses a problem that affects millions and hopes that through humour we can all face the manias with which we live. Teatro Principe Gran Vía, C/Tres Cruces, 8 (Metro: Gran Vía/Callao). Tel: 91 521 83 81. Tickets (entradas.com) €15-€25. Tues-Thur 8.30pm; Fri, Sat 8pm, 10.30pm; Sun 7pm. Until 28 Feb.

Los Miércoles Mágicos de Madrid (MMM)
Willy Monroe, magician and advisor to Madrid’s famous Yllana Theatre troupe, brings the best of the Madrid magic scene to Teatro Alfil. Each Wednesday, a mix of three national and international magicians, illusionists and mindreaders will fill the theatre with magic for all ages. Be sure to check the schedule to see which show best suits your taste. Teatro Alfil, C/Pez, 10 (Metro: Noviciado/Tribunal/Callao). Tel: 91 521 45 41. Tickets (91 521 58 27, entradas.com) €18. Wed 8.30pm. Until Apr.

dance

Cambio de Tercio
Modernised flamenco that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Already seen on five continents, choreographers Roja y Rodríguez’s show offers intensely emotional dance that’s full of energy. The pair are joined by four other dancers to perform three different pieces that fuse flamenco and classical Spanish forms. Teatro Nuevo Apolo, Plaza Tirso de Molina, 1 (Metro: Tirso de Molina). Tel: 91 369 06 37. Tickets from entradas.com, elcorteingles.es (prices and show times TBC). 18 Feb-14 Mar.

Cartografías de la Danza
For its eighth edition, this festival highlighting the works of emerging dance companies, choreographers and dancers, chooses the theme “El Futuro Comienza Hoy” (“The Future Begins Today”). It brings an array of styles to Teatro de Madrid, including classic and neoclassic ballet, flamenco, modern, and traditional Spanish forms. There’s also a photography competition and exhibition and performances taking place in more unconventional locations, such as the theatre café. Interested in learning about the link between dance and new technologies? Take advantage of the three-day “Danza y Tecnología” workshop in March run by Kònic Theatre. Teatro de Madrid, Avda de la Ilustración, s/n (Metro: Barrio del Pilar/Herrera Oria). Tel: 91 740 52 74. Tickets (91 730 17 50, entradas.com) €10-€18. See www. teatromadrid.com for shows and times. 4 Feb-21 Mar.

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