LLEI D'ART 13

ÁlvaroAlcazar Gamarra La tenacidad de un galerista de oficio ÁlvaroAlcázarGamarra The tenacity of aprofessional gallery owner From the gallery bearinghis name inCalleCastelló in the ever-chicSalamanca neighbourhood, thisMadrid- born, Boston-educated galerista has provedhis intention to carve his path in the complicatedworldof contemporary art. Todo this, hemakes themost of the some of the strategies he learnt in his stock exchange days, such as how to look after clients to convince them to invest in the artists that currentlymake up his artistic assets. At themoment he has quality artists such as EduardoArroyo, AntonioMurandoor Simon Edmonson; the sculptor AnthonyCaroormulti-faceted creators likeRafael Canogar, JosepMaríaSirvent or Lino Lago, the latter being a young artist tobet on. He has knownmany of them since hewas a child, such asMari Puri Herrero, theCáceres-born LuisCanelo or EduardoArroyo, whenhe used tohelp hismother (theBilbaonativeCarmenGamarra) in his first gallery, Madrid’sAlençon, located inCalleVillanueva.When shedied in2002, Gamarra had already had a long andprestigious career in theworldof art dating from the early 1980s.WhileÁlvarowas studyingbusiness inBoston, hismother (in a associationwith Isabel Garrigues) opened amoderngallery close to theReina Sofíamuseum. However, thepair’s ambitionwas in vain: in 1996 their association failed and the gallery closeddown. A year later, Gamarrawas offered a directorial post at theMetta gallery, whichher son would take over in2002 after her death. Álvaro carried on in thepost until 2007. After a series of professional setbacks related the legal investigation into the financial companyAfinsa and its twogalleriesMetta andAlmirante, Álvarowas able to resurface and start up the gallery that nowbears his name, currently at number 41CalleCastelló, where he can still count on thepresence of some of the finest artists that were part of hismother’s gallery’s collection. Nowadays hebearswith the greatest of resignations thedifficult state of affairs of art and culture in Spain. Despite this, his obsessionwithquality and determination have helped himmove forward and have got him into some of theworld’s bestmodern art fairs. He ismore than able tomanage in these ecosystemswhere every detail counts and you have tobe on topof every detail to ensure a gooddeal. After every effort, onceback inhiswhitewashed, diaphanous gallery, he shifts down into amore calm gear. His space is highly personalized, where the grid that houses the gallery’s artworks acts as the backdropof the reception, andwhere light floods into every corner. Together with his brother Javier and his right hand, the lovelyCarmenHidalgo, Álvaronever stops in his desire to ensure thequality of each and every one of his exhibitionprojects, supporting and encouraging the artists he so ardently defends inhis various designs or technical investigationprojects. Desde su galería homónima ubicada en la calle Castelló, ubicada en el siempre elegante barrio de Salamanca, este madrileño nacido en 1967 y formado en Boston ha demostrado, no solamente un gran empeño en salir adelante dentro del complicadomundo del arte contemporáneo, sino también valerse de algunas de las estrategias que en su día aprendió del mundo de la Bolsa, como cuidar y mimar a los clientes para convencerles de que inviertan en obras realizadas por algunos de los creadores que actualmente conforman suhaber artístico. Cuentaensuhaberconartistasdel calibredeEduardoArroyo, Antonio Murado o Simon Edmonson; el escultor Anthony Caro o creadores tan polifacéticos como Rafael Canogar, Josep María Sirvent, o Lino Lago, uno de esos jóvenes artistas por los que apostar. A muchos de ellos los conoce desde niño –como a Mari Puri Herrero, el cacereño Luis Canelo o Eduardo Arroyo–, cuando ayudaba a su madre, la bilbaínaCarmenGamarra, en laque fuesuprimeragalería, en Madrid, la Alençon, en la calle Villanueva. Fallecida en el año 2002, la galerista ya contaba con una dilatada y prestigiosa trayectoria dentro del mundo del arte desde principios de los 80. Mientras Álvaro estudiaba empresariales en Boston, su madre, siempre asociada a Isabel Garrigues, inauguraba unamoderna galería cerca del Reina Sofía en la que ambas depositaronesperanzasvanas, yaquepoco tiempodespués, en1996, suasociación fracasóy, conella, seprodujoel cierre Álvaro junto a su equipo: CarmenHidalgo y su hermano Javier/ Álvarowith hiswork team: CarmenHidalgo and his brother Javier. Foto/ Photo JuanManuel Miranda. 92