Complete programme
Major Collectors of contemporary art. The new canons and their interpreters
Barons Blanca and Borja Thyssen-Bornemisza
Continuing the family tradition, Barons Blanca and Borja Thyssen-Bornemisza are passionate about art, especially modern and contemporary painting. In 2022 the couple decided to show their collection to the public at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, of which Borja is a member of the board of trustees. The collectors have hung their recent acquisitions of works by Richard Estes, Charles Bell, Ross Bleckner, Kenny Scharf, Peter Halley and Alex Katz, among others, in the museum’s galleries. The patronage of the Barons Thyssen-Bornemisza enables us to show the public live how an art collection takes shape. For this purpose, a series of exhibitions held each year charts the formation of their contemporary collection. cabo una serie de exposiciones al año que muestran obras recién adquiridas de su colección contemporánea.
Eduardo Costantini
Eduardo F. Costantini, a prominent entrepreneur and collector, is known for his passion for Latin American art and his contribution to the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), which he supports through his foundation. In 2001 he gifted more than 220 works to the museum, including pieces by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, most notably Dance in Tehuantepec. He has acquired important works over the years, such as by León Ferrari, Remedios Varo and Wifredo Lam. Costantini’s collection is constantly growing, and the MALBA has expanded with the construction of Malba Puertos, which recently opened in September 2024.
Armando Cabral
Armando Cabral and his wife Maria João Santos, who are passionate about art, founded the non-profit organisation Rialto6 in Lisbon in 2019. Its purpose is to support contemporary art by exhibiting pieces from their collection of Portuguese and international art focused mainly on photography, video and installation, post-conceptual-inspired works and political actions. It also promotes cultural exchanges between international artists and collectors.
Alejandra and Alejandro Lázaro
The Lázaro collection began in 2013 with the birth of Alejandro Lazaro and Alejandra Gonzalez's first daughter, with the desire to give her a work of art on her coming of age and thus involve the new generations of her family. The collection, which has more than 200 works, initially focused on Central European painting. Works such as those by German artists Günther Förg and André Butzer were the first acquisitions. Once immersed in the web created around art, among gallery owners, artists, curators, and other professionals, the initial essence of the collection was modified and greatly enriched. Although at the beginning its style was very clear and defined, over time it has evolved and expanded into other media such as sculpture, video art and installations. In the words of the collectors “We are attracted to art that moves, that speaks of our society, and that portrays the problems we are experiencing”.
In 2023 they were awarded by the ARCO Foundation in the category of National Young Private Collection.
Adolfo Autric and Charo Tamayo
Madrid-born lawyer Charo Tamayo Lorenzo, and her husband businessman Adolfo Autric Amarillo de Sancho, have amassed an important collection of industrial design and a collection of Spanish photography, part of which was donated in 2018 to MNCARS. Notable among the donations are some 650 snapshots of the AFAL Group. For years they sponsored an Extraordinary Chair at the Complutense University of Madrid to promote the study of design and contemporary art. Currently, their photography collection is focused on authors of “la movida” in Madrid in the 80s. Their collecting vocation is focused on contributing to fill some of the gaps in Spanish museums, to which they regularly make deposits and loans.
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo began collecting contemporary art in the 1990s and established the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in 1996 to support emerging artists in Italy. The foundation opened its Turin headquarters in 2002 and organises a broad range of cultural activities. An active patron and a board member of important international institutions such as the MoMA, the New Museum and Tate, Patrizia has received several prizes, including the Mont Blanc Arts Patronage Award in 2003 and honorary titles in recognition of her cultural work. Her foundation houses nearly two thousand contemporary artworks.
Tanya Capriles de Brillembourg
The Venezuelan collector Tanya Capriles, the widow of banker David Brillembourg, is known for owning one of the finest collections of Latin American art on the continent. In addition to pursuing a career as a philanthropist, in 2003 she founded Fundación SaludArte, which combines medical care for children with art as a means for social change. The foundation promotes education and social integration through the visual and performing arts, as well as supporting emerging artists. Together with Herman Leyba, in 2008 she created IdeoBox Art Space, a cultural space in Miami for Latin American artists. Her collection, consisting of more than 1,000 works by artists, is on long-term loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza
In 2002 the philanthropist and patron Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza established TBA21, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, one of the leading international foundations for art and public engagement. The foundation bases its work on the TBA21 Collection and runs a major programme of exhibitions and public and educational activities. TBA21 has its headquarters in Madrid, where it operates in partnership with the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, and important branches in Venice (the art and science centre Ocean Space) and in Portland, Jamaica. More than a decade ago, the foundation established TBA21-Academy, a research and action programme in the field of environmental advocacy, which carries out interdisciplinary and collaborative projects led by artists as agents of social change.
Alberto Cruz
Alberto Cruz is a prominent Dominican businessman and philanthropist, founder of several companies in the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States. Passionate about art and an active collector, he has made significant contributions through various initiatives to promote knowledge, appreciation and dissemination of art. In 2023, he created the Alberto Cruz Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art and culture of the Dominican Republic and its diaspora through support, research, preservation and dissemination of the production of its artists and cultural agents. He is a member of several Dominican and international cultural institutions and organizations, including the International Patronage Council of the Fundación Museo Reina Sofía and the Latin American Circle of the Guggenheim Museum.