Adriàn Castañeda: Mantenga la calma at Madrid Art Week

Founded as an alternative platform to traditional contemporary art spaces, UVNT Art Fair returned to Matadero Madrid for its ninth edition. An interview with Adriàn Castañeda on his public installation

Mantenga la calma by Adriàn Castañeda for UVNT Art Fair

Between the end of February and the beginning of March, a small rectangular pedestal with two yellow beach loungers appeared at the intersection of Calle Martín de Vargas and Plaza Glorieta de Embajadores, in Madrid, provoking questions among residents and passers-by. This artistic incursion entitled Mantenga la calma (Keep Calm, 2025) was created by the Spanish artist Adriàn Castañeda for the Public Art Program of UVNT Art Fair. The piece stems from a line of work in which he explores the subversion of elements in public space. By transforming objects that, in their original state, function as tools of control, restriction, or demarcation, he redefines and provide them with a new meaning within the urban environment.

«In this case, the work consisted of two chairs constructed from pedestrian barriers – he explains. My gesture was to reclaim these barriers, cut them, and turn them into something else, transforming an object that restricts free movement and creates borders in the streets into an element that reclaims public space». The result was two seats that invite people to sit, talk, rest, and ultimately, to enjoy the street. Castañeda is currently working on other pieces that apply the same principle of repurposing urban elements. One example is Todos juntos o de uno en uno (All Together or One by One), in which he uses a barrier to create a seesaw, reinforcing the idea of ​​turning these control structures into devices for interaction and enjoyment.

Lexus x UVNT Art Fair: the Public Art Program

Sergio Sancho, director of UVNT Art Fair, founded the fair to provide art that didn’t find a place in other more traditional spaces with an international platform. In recent years, the fair has taken a further step by bringing contemporary art out of the white cube and closer to the people. With the aim of permeating art into the social fabric and urban structure of the city through direct and casual fruition, UVNT Art Fair has created the Public Art Program, that for the second consecutive year was supported by the high-end Japanese car manufacturer Lexus.

This year’s program consisted of three installations, including Castañeda’s: Agustín Esteso presented Big Peanut (2024), a totem of three forged steel modules assembled with handcrafted precision, which only show their imperfections and rough texture up close, while Lara Ruiz created CDC-Matadero (2024), a play of purple pipes that emerges from the street and pays homage to sculptors such as Bourgeois and Saint Phalle, reclaiming volume and materiality as metaphors of strength and resistance. The partnership between UVNT Art Fair and Lexus revolves around “KÚU”, a concept of Japanese origin that defines an empty space, impossible to measure or weigh, where the power to create has no limits. Through the Public Art Program, Lexus is consolidating its position in the world of art, collaborating with artists and artisans who share the same vision: letting creativity run free while addressing crucial social issues.

Adriàn Castañeda challenges the social discourse through symbols and decontextualized objects

Castañeda’s practice is rooted in contemporary social and political contexts: «The starting point of my work is precisely the exploration of social issues, power dynamics, and conflicts that I encounter in my daily life. It is this connection to reality that motivates me to create art, driven by a commitment to my surroundings and their challenges». Through the exploration of the dynamics of power and hegemony typical of today’s politics, he aims to encourage reflection on the contemporary democratic landscape.

His strategy involves appropriating elements that carry symbolic weight, using words and decontextualizing objects while playing with controversy, irony, and satire. Castañeda employs these physical and suggestive tools to construct impactful narratives. «Beyond technique or material, what matters most is the commitment to art, to the narrative, and to the audience – he claims. My goal is not just to create a visually striking piece but to generate dialogue, a connection that invites reflection. Each project arises from a need to address certain issues, and it is from that urgency that I choose the most suitable means to bring the idea to life».

How personal experience and identity shape Adriàn Castañeda’s work

Every project he creates stems from a direct connection to the world, the circumstances that surround him, and the contradictions he faces in his daily life: «Being a white man living in Europe means acknowledging many privileges but also constantly confronting dilemmas and questions. There is a tension between the comfort of that position and the awareness of the inequalities that shape the world. My art becomes a mechanism for grappling with these realities, reflecting on them, and, in a way, sharing these concerns with those who may feel addressed by them».

«More than a purely personal expression, I see my work as a form of dialogue with my environment», he claims. Considering this statement, his installation Mantenga la calma takes on a higher level of understanding and meaning. It is no coincidence that his relationship with art began at an early age, around 15, when he started doing graffiti, a social and cultural manifestation based on the expression of one’s creativity through pictorial interventions on the urban fabric. If nowadays art for art’s sake is an outdated concept and the artist must be able to transcend personal experience and connect with the community, public art plays a central role in contemporary artistic discourse. And with its Public Art Program UVNT, which as a fair cannot ignore its primary commercial purpose, seems to acknowledge it.

Interdisciplinarity in contemporary art

UVNT aims to showcase the latest art and reflect artistic trends while building a dialogue with the past and the artistic expressions developed in the urban context since the 70s. Interdisciplinarity is a crucial asset in contemporary artistic practices, allowing artists to experiment with different languages, adapting to different contexts, audiences, and topics. The participating galleries, with their rosters of emerging and mid-career artists, embody this fluid approach that ranges from figurative painting to abstraction, from sculpture to photography.

«Art, as I see it, is a vehicle for communication, questioning, and making visible what often goes unnoticed. To incorporate these themes into my work, I use various languages and formats, as diverse as necessary. While my practice is often rooted in sculpture or installation, my goal is to establish a connection between these issues and the viewer. I don’t limit myself to a single medium but instead seek the most effective way to convey the message», claims Castañeda.

Beyond physicality: the Digital Art Program in collaboration with JDecaux

Sponsored for the first time by the designer appliance brand CREATE, the Digital Art Program has been on display in bus shelters throughout Madrid since February 25. This year’s central theme, dissident corporeality, invited the artists involved to explore how bodies and identities are reattempted outside the normative canons through digital narratives.

Among the artists involved, Sophie Koko stands out for her films that she herself defines as aesthetically ugly and, for this reason, paradoxically attractive. Her rough language is characterized by vibrant color palettes and experimental graphic styles to create surreal worlds and imaginative characters that however provide the audience with raw glimpses of reality. On the contrary, French multidisciplinary artist Bora explores contemporary reality through tenderness, while Brazilian Gabriel Massan addresses inequalities in Latin American society by inviting reflection on the biased concept of “Third World”. In the streets of Madrid, passers-by could also enjoy digital works by Jackasswedge and Volcia.

UVNT Art Fair 2025, a hub for contemporary art during Madrid Art Week

UVNT Art Fair 2025 took place during Madrid Art Week from March 6 to 9. It returned for the second consecutive year to Matadero Madrid, a former slaughterhouse transformed into a center for contemporary arts. More than forty national and international galleries showcased works by over 160 artists. Among the novelties of the 2025 edition, FOCO LATAM, a curated section developed in collaboration with curator and art critic Christian Viveros-Fauné dedicated to a series of nine projects by Latin American galleries, and ceramics, that this year took centre stage thanks to the participation of nearly twenty ceramists.

These initiatives, as well as the Public Art Program and the Digital Art Program, are proof of UVNT’s commitment to establishing itself in the Spanish panorama and beyond as a hub for boundless creativity and to intercept the freshest trends in the production and collecting of contemporary art. As a young contemporary artist, Castañeda may not have the right detachment to predict the next evolutions of art and its market, but he is in a privileged position to comprehend its dynamics and appreciate its current manifestations: «I enjoy contemporary art, and I see young artists doing nteresting things, with both discernment and commitment. It’s difficult to predict where we are headed, but regardless, I hope art transcends the purely plastic and visual and always engages people. It is likely that, in terms of form, it will continue to evolve due to the exponential use of technology, but its essence should remain rooted in reality, constantly questioning and reassessing its purpose and meaning».

UVNT Art Fair

Founded in 2027 by Sergio Sancho, the 9th edition of UVNT Art Fair 2025 took place from March 6th to 9th, 2025 at Matadero Madrid. UVNT aims at investigating the freshest trends in contemporary art by showcasing works by emerging and mid-career artists represented by national and international galleries.

Adriàn Castañeda

Adrián Castañeda (Salamanca, 1990) works and lives in Bilbao. Awarded a grant at the BilbaoArte Foundation in 2017 and 2021, his work has been exhibited at Las Naves in Valencia, Injuve’s Sala Amadís in Madrid, the Archaeological Museum of Bilbao, the Vitriol Gallery in Buenos Aires, the Cantieri Culturali Alla Zisa in Palermo or the Kunstkerk in Dordrecht in the Netherlands.

Agnese Torres