Madrid D.F.

In 1980, the renovated Madrid Municipal Museum launched an emblematic collective show that offered a unique vision of early 1980s painting, bringing together 12 Madrid-based artists. Entitled Madrid D. F. La nueva escena artística madrileña (Madrid D. F.: The New Madrid Art Scene), the show was curated by Juan Manuel Bonet (later, the Reina Sofía’s director), Ángel González and Francisco Rivas. It responded to the ideal of turning the city into a federal district for Spanish plastic arts with universalist aspirations, as reflected in contemporary press reports. The catalogue, headed by González’s essay, featured contributions from leading critics and historians of the time. Alongside the publication, Grupo Quince produced this portfolio of lithographs.
The show kicked off the decade, introducing a generation of artists known as ‘los federales’ (the Federalists), including both abstract and figurative artists. The project confirmed the thesis that painting was the primary visual-arts medium of the period, controversially defended by critics at the Juana Mordó Gallery’s exhibition entitled 1980.
José Manuel Lara