Caixaforum Madrid Opens

MADRID, Spain, March, 2008 – The Spanish capital has a new cultural star. Madrid's 1899 electrical power station has been transformed into the $96 million CaixaForum Madrid, a stunning new venue for art exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, workshops and conferences. Three exhibitions are currently on display there including "Bread of Angels," (Pan de los Ángeles), a show from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence of 45 paintings – many of which have never before left Italy – by Botticelli, Giordano, Parmigianino and Signorelli through May 25.

One of the few examples of turn-of-the-century industrial architecture in Madrid's historical center, the cast-iron and brick Central Eléctrica del Mediodía has been expanded into a seven-story complex of over 100,000 square feet – five times its original size. Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have designed an innovative "sculptural" building which seems to levitate over a newly-created public square on one side while an eye-catching vertical "garden" covers another side of its façade. An exciting new addition to Madrid's Paseo del Arte, or Art Walk, the CaixaForum Madrid is only steps away from the newly-expanded Museo del Prado, the Thyssen Bornemisza (enlarged in 2004) and the Reina Sofía which doubled in size in 2005.

Originally designed in 1899 by Jesus Carrasco-Muñoz Encina and engineer José María Hernández on the site of an old candle factory, the 21,500-square-foot building was almost in ruins by 2001 when the Caixa purchased it along with an adjoining gas station. Working with the old power plant's structure and respecting its façade – a protected landmark – Herzog and de Meuron aimed to "integrate the architectural structure into the urban dynamic gracefully and actively." Thanks to a painstaking restoration using traditional materials and century-old craft techniques – 40,000 of the building's 115,000 bricks were replaced – the façade looks as good as new. By removing the stone base around the old power plant and supporting the building on three huge pillars, the designers created a structure that "floats" over a new 27,000-square-foot public square.

The first of its kind in Spain, the 5,000-square-foot vertical garden by botanist Patrick Blanc is also his largest to date. This "living tapestry" has 15,000 plants of 250 different species.

The newly-enlarged space encompasses two floors dedicated to exhibitions, two large multi-purpose halls (rooms), a 311-seat auditorium, a bookshop, storage for artwork and a restaurant on the labyrinthine top floor dotted by irregular niches that admit natural light.

Running through April 6, the inaugural exhibition showcases 30 contemporary art works from the foundation's permanent collection by artists such as: Anselm Kiefer, George Baselitz, Miquel Barceló, Francesco Clemente, Cindy Sherman and Cornelia Parker. Another show of 26 monumental sculptures by Igor Mitoraj is on through April 13. "Bread of Angels," the show of 45 paintings from the 15th to the 17th centuries from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, is on display through May 25.

The Foundation of la "Caixa" Social and Cultural Outreach Projects (Obra Social Fundación "la Caixa") is Spain's largest corporate foundation. Admission to exhibitions is free at the CaixaForum Madrid, located at 36 Paseo del Prado. Call: 011-34-91-330-73-00 or go to the Spanish website: http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/centros/caixaforummadrid_es.html

For more information about Spain, contact the Tourist Office of Spain in New York (212-265-8822); Miami (305-358-1992); Chicago (312-642-1992) or Los Angeles (323-658-7195) or go to www.spain.info

March 18, 2008   Posted in: Spain