Art and Artisan Traditions
On December 15, 2023, Galician artisan Álvaro M. Leiro received one of the highest honours in crafts in Spain, the prestigious Premio Nacional de Artesanía (National Award), at the sixteenth edition of the National Craft Awards. Convened annually by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism through the School of Industrial Organization (EOI) and its craft promotion arm, Fundesarte,…
Read MorePurposely pared back, this year’s holiday gift guide showcases Spain’s rich and varied ceramic, textile, glassmaking, and woodworking artisanal traditions. Plaart Located in Madrid, Plaart studio makes unique handcrafted contemporary ceramics. Founder Isabel San Martín is a graduate in fine arts and received specialized training in ceramic arts from the School of Art Francisco Alcántara and the Moncloa School of…
Read MoreWhen you view the pieces of Idoia Cuesta, the line between art and artisanship begins and ends as one. She describes her work as the “fusion of basketry with textiles and the versatility of the resulting piece through the combination of organic materials with different craft techniques.”. A longstanding admirer of her work, I was happy…
Read MoreTo speak with my voice: the ultimate. I did not want anything more, anything different. Cassandra, by Christa Wolf On March 30, Spain’s National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid inaugurated the exhibition Cassandra, featuring the works of textile artist Kima Guitart. Cassandra is her vision of the myth of Cassandra, a symbol of unheard…
Read MoreThe Madrid Design Festival which began in February is taking place at various locations around Madrid and online. The only festival in Spain that brings together all design disciplines, including architecture, graphic and interior design, hybridizing them in a contemporary and innovative format. This year’s event, the sixth edition, sees the participation of over eighty…
Read MoreWoodic-a contraction of the words wood and ceramic- is the art studio that ceramicist Natalia Suárez opened in a small village in the northern community of Asturias in 2018. A graduate of the University of Barcelona in Fine Arts with a specialty in design, she pursued further education in Artistic Ceramics at the Barcelona Arts…
Read MoreThis curated selection of made-in-Spain pieces has wonderful gift ideas for the discerning recipient. Representing some of the best of Spain’s artisan traditions-leathercraft, ceramic, textile, woodwork- they stand out as purely art pieces as well as functional objects. All items are available online or by special order and can be shipped outside of Spain. José…
Read More“At Sagarminaga Atelier we are passionate about telling stories, those of natural fibers that are expressed and transformed through our hands.“ In 2017, Gabriela de Sagarminaga created Sagarminaga Atelier, a craft studio and workshop born of an illusion: to collect an ancient tradition, the craft of vegetable fibers. It is her material of choice for exclusive…
Read MoreMade in Spain in the World: 3 Leading Spanish Brands at the Prestigious Maison & Objet Fair in Paris
The spring edition of the Maison & Objet, one of the preeminent international trade fairs for the decoration, design, and lifestyle sector, took place between March 24 and 28 after a hiatus due to the pandemic. This edition centered around different aspects of the theme “New Luxury.”. Exhibitors in fourteen sectors presented a range of styles and…
Read MoreIn February and March, Madrid hosted the fifth edition of the Madrid Design Festival at venues throughout the city and online, placing the city at the forefront of the international design scene. This edition centered around three fundamental themes: transformation, economy, and prosperity, which formed the basis of the over 200 activities and 41 exhibitions. Showcasing…
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