The Ministry of Culture and the Reina Sofía have acquired a total of 26 works at the ARCO 2025 Contemporary Art Fair worth more than 497,999 euros, of which 73.6% belong to female artists, as explained by the Secretary of State for Culture, Jordi Martí, on Friday.
In this regard, he pointed out that with the purchase of these 26 pieces by 19 artists, they aimed to counteract the «invisibility» of women in the museum’s collection, support emerging or young artists, and complete the Reina Sofía’s itinerary with 70% of artists not previously represented in its collection.
«We had to cover those important names, mostly women, that had not been represented until now,» Martí pointed out.
With the amount provided by Culture, 398,499 euros, 22 works by artists Laia Abril, Elena Blasco, Marina Vargas, Ángela de la Cruz, Victorina Durán, Agnes Essonti Luque, María Luisa Fernández, Josep Grau-Garriga, Raquel Manchado, Mónica Mays, Marta Minujín, Robert Morris, Maribel Nazco, Mónica Planas, and Carlos Rodríguez-Méndez were acquired.
Meanwhile, with the amount provided by the art gallery, which was 99,500 euros, 4 works by artists Judy Chicago, Juan Pablo Echevarri, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, and Luz Lizarazo were purchased. The museum’s director, Manuel Segade, explained that with these recent acquisitions, gender parity between men and women, as well as between national and international artists, has been achieved.
WOMEN ARTISTS AT THE REINA SOFÍA: «MISERABLE FIGURE»
Nevertheless, Segade pointed out that even with this high percentage of works by female artists, they are not close to achieving equality in the Reina Sofía’s collection. «13% of the museum’s 25,000 pieces are by women, it’s a miserable figure. Even with this 70%, we are not there yet, but we are on the path to mitigating that more masculine presence, which is much more established,» he detailed.
Among the sculptures, paintings, drawings, or photographs acquired, feminist themes or themes about female desire prevail, including a photograph by Marina Vargas, ‘Breaking the Canon,’ in which the protagonist is a woman «survivor» of breast cancer showing the scar from a mastectomy.
According to the artist herself, this is the third edition of the snapshot that won the PHotoESPAÑA prize in 2023, and it is the first time it is being offered for sale at an international fair.
«It is part of a long-term project in which the artist has worked for the visibility of her breast cancer and the consequences of breast removal. It fits into that moment of natural study where men paint women. But a woman who empowers herself, with a fist raised showing the body of a cancer survivor,» Segade explained.
On the other hand, another recurring theme in the works purchased during ARCO is «female desire,» for example, present in the drawings of Victorina Durán that reflect a «female desire of a lesbian woman.» Maribel Nazco also advocates for this theme in her drawings, which, once acquired, will complement a metallic piece already present at the Reina Sofía.
While male artists are a minority in these acquisitions, those that are present also adhere to a «gender code,» as explained by Segade, referring to a textile work by Garriga that led to the creation of a textile art school in Catalonia, a space mostly occupied by women. Another artist, Carlos Rodríguez-Méndez, reflects on death and mourning in the work acquired by Culture.
