The fifth edition of By Invitation, held from 7 to 10 November at the Círculo Ecuestre in Barcelona, closed its doors last Sunday after a renewed, inclusive and successful edition. This year, the club's flagship Modern and Contemporary Art Show surprised with the inclusion of galleries from the primary market, offering a range of works that have covered from historical pieces to recent and emerging productions, with accessible prices from one thousand euros to one million, thus promoting the flow of veteran collectors and new interested parties. The event received more than 9,000 visitors, 3,000 more than in the previous edition, thus consolidating its relevance in the European art circuit.
The official opening of the event was held on Thursday, 7 November, at 11:00 am and was attended by Maria Eugènia Gay, second deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council, and Josep Maria Carreté, Secretary General of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Both were welcomed by the president of the Círculo Ecuestre, Enrique Lacalle. That same day, at 5:00 p.m., the show opened its doors to the public, kicking off four days of exhibitions, activities and dialogues in the emblematic modernist mansion of the Círculo Ecuestre.
During the show, the modernist mansion of the Círculo Ecuestre hosted an exhibition with more than 80 national and international artists, represented with more than 1,500 works, including figures such as Picasso, Miró and Dalí, as well as renowned contemporary artists and emerging promises. The event, curated by Enrique Lacalle, president of the club, with the artistic direction of Mariella Franzoni, and the architectural design of Andrea Isola, stood out for its ambitious and innovative proposal and for its program of cultural activities and conferences.
Participation of galleries and artists
This year, By Invitation featured a record 24 national and international galleries, including both secondary market exhibitions, with historic names in the art world, and primary market exhibitions, with emerging and established artists.
Also, the fifth edition of the event stood out for highlighting numerous proposals by great female artists from the Catalan and national scene and from different generations, thus creating a space of visibility for those who have been traditionally underrepresented in the art scene and the market.
In the secondary market, the following galleries participated: Galería Guillermo de Osma (Madrid), Galeria David Cervelló (Barcelona), Galería Marc Calzada (Barcelona), Carlos Teixidó Galeria d’Art (Barcelona and Andorra), Galeria Dolors Junyent (Barcelona), Art Petritxol - Héctor Albericio (Barcelona), Galería Jorge Alcolea (Barcelona and Madrid) and Galeria de Arte Fernando Pinós + Gothsland Art Gallery (Barcelona). These exhibited works by renowned national and international artists such as Le Corbusier, Antoni Tàpies, Eduardo Chillida, Santiago Rusiñol, Joaquín Sorolla, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Celso Lagar, Pablo Gargallo, Apel·les Fenosa, Ismael de la Serna, Ramon Casas, Antoni Clavé, Olga Sacharoff, Bernard Buffet and John Hassall.
In the primary market, the following were present: Senda Gallery (Barcelona), Fernando Pradilla Gallery (Barcelona), Taché Art Gallery (Barcelona), Marc Domènech Gallery (Barcelona), Ana Mas Projects (Barcelona, Puerto Rico), Llamazares Gallery (Gijon), Arma Gallery (Madrid), Gärna Art Gallery (Madrid), Piramidón, Centre d’Art Contemporani (Barcelona), Fuga Gallery (Barcelona), Pigment Gallery (Barcelona), Sorondo (Barcelona), Shiras Gallery (Valencia) and Ola Gallery (Barcelona), with proposals by contemporary artists, both established and emerging, such as Peter Halley, Jaume Plensa, Marina Vargas, Lluis Lleó, Charo Pradas, Rosa Torres, Miralda, Regina Giménez, Cecilia Paredes, Juan Escudero, Sergio Mora, Lena Laguna Diel, Sara Bonache, Rita Sala, Alsino Skowronnek, Cesc Abad, Antonella Aiassa and Elena Gual. In addition, Il·lacions Gallery (Barcelona), specialising in contemporary designer art, also participated in the event with a special proposal.
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By Invitation launches into the publishing world with a top-quality magazine
The Círculo Ecuestre Modern and Contemporary Art Fair created, for the first time, the monographic magazine By Invitation, an editorial piece that includes exclusive interviews with leading figures from the world of art and collecting, such as Isak Andic, Sara Puig, Baroness Thyssen, Javier Lumbreras, Luis Bassat and Paco Celorrio.
The editorial initiative provided great added value by allowing early access to all the exhibition projects of the participating galleries, as well as offering a detailed view of the artistic proposals that have been part of the event, thus promoting a deeper connection with the outstanding works and artists. The magazine proved to be a reference tool for collectors and art lovers, enhancing the enjoyment and understanding of the exhibition programme before, during and after the event itself.
By Invitation 2024 was renewed with a hospitality programme through which it invited collectors from outside Barcelona to visit the show and take part in the rich agenda of activities, managed in collaboration with Art Run Agency. In addition, a patronage programme, focused on promoting the culture of collecting and the figure of the patron, through which three Acquisition Awards were held, courtesy of Prior Collections, Colección Visual Sign and Hotel Nord **** Girona.
Conference and dialogue programme
As usual in each edition, the By Invitation 2024 programme once again offered a series of high-level conferences and dialogues addressing topics of interest to the art sector such as the work of foundations, the value of artists' legacy in cities, design as a form of collecting and the existence of committed works in museums.
Notable speakers included Sara Puig, president of the Fundació Joan Miró; Marko Daniel, director of the Fundació Miró; Alejandra Silvestre, director of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation; Benedetta Tagliabue, renowned Italian architect; Teresa Ybarra, director of Bonhams Spain; Tatxo Benet, businessman and collector of contemporary art, and the cultural consultant and art market analyst Llucià Homs, among others.
It is possible to re-watch some of the talks through the Círculo Ecuestre's YouTube channel:
The Miró year, with Sara Puig, Marko Daniel and Sergio Vila-Sanjuán.
Collectible design, with Benedetta Tagliabue, Xavi Franquesa and Teresa Ybarra.
Recognition and international projection
With a large number of works sold, a record number of gallery participants, 9,000 attendees and great satisfaction on the part of gallery owners and visitors, By Invitation once again positioned itself as a key event in the European art and collecting circuit, in addition to its consolidation as the reference Modern and Contemporary Art Fair in Barcelona.
In the words of Enrique Lacalle, president of the Círculo Ecuestre and curator of the exhibition: “In this fifth edition of By Invitation, we have managed to consolidate an event that has already become a benchmark for modern and contemporary art, not only in Barcelona, but throughout Spain. From the beginning, it was born with a clear vision: to offer Catalan society and the general public a unique space for meeting and mutual enrichment for art, collectors and older gallery owners. This vision has materialized year after year, and seeing how it grows and evolves with each edition is, without a doubt, a source of pride and satisfaction for all of us”. “This year, we have integrated an extraordinary selection of galleries from the primary market with those from the secondary market, creating an exceptional 'cocktail' that allows visitors to explore art from different perspectives, from newly produced works to pieces with a long history. We look to the future with ambition, certain that By Invitation will continue to evolve and position itself as a benchmark in the European art scene”,he concluded.