Complete programme
Major Collectors of contemporary art. The new canons and their interpreters
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 and Maria João Cabral
Maria João Santos and Armando Cabral, 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.
Juan Carlos Maldonado
Juan Carlos Maldonado is the founder and president of a private collection specialising in Latin American Abstract Art, with a focus on abstract geometric pieces from the 1930s–1970s from countries such as Colombia, Argentina and Brazil. The collection has been exhibited at major institutions such as the MFA Houston and the MALBA. It also promotes art education through its online platform, jcmac.art.
Adolfo Autric and Charo Tamayo
The Madrid-born lawyer Adolfo Autric and his wife Charo Tamayo have amassed nearly four thousand industrial design objects and a valuable photography collection, much of which was donated to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid in 2018. Notable among these gifts are some 650 photographs by the AFAL group. They have established the Special Autric Tamayo Chair at the Complutense University in Madrid to promote design and contemporary art.
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 Acosta
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.