Exhibition

Alfredo Alcain at Alcalá 31

12/09/2025

On view through 11 January 2025 at Sala Alcalá 31 in Madrid, ‘Alfredo Alcain: A Retrospective’ is a walk through the over sixty years of creativity of a prominent Madrid artist born in 1936. Curated by Mariano Navarro, the exhibition gives a broad view of a trajectory that encompasses drawing, painting, sculpture, graphic work, and objects. It also includes an audiovisual presentation on the altar that Alcain installed in 1970 in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Villafamés (Castellón).

The ground floor displays his major pictorial series, such as Cézanne petit-point, with various reinterpretations of the French painter’s classic still-lifes, where figurative objects coexist with items rendered in a more abstract language. All the exhibits show his constant dialogue with tradition and his capacity to give forms a new shape without depriving them of identity.

The main floor welcomes visitors with A la pintura (1977), an important work in Alcain’s career, followed by an unfolding of his bond with Cézanne, his interpretation of cubism, and his evolution toward an abstraction grounded on drawing and an expressive use of color.

The first floor, focused on the artist’s biography, features paintings of Madrid facades and shop windows, recurring motifs in his work in the 1970s. These urban scenes may look simple but they speaks of a gaze full of sensitivity, memories, and social reflection, where color, used expressively, is a key narrative tool.

Completing the exhibition is a section in which Alcain establishes visual and conceptual links with other artists, reaffirming his place in contemporary discourse without losing his own unique voice.