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Art collection

Madrid-Barajas Airport houses a significant part of AENA's Contemporary Art Collection in its premises. The art work, curated by the Aena Foundation, constitutes an excellent example of painting and sculpture from the second half of the 20th century.

Among the most remarkable works that can be seen at the Madrid-Barajas Airport we have two murals by Oswaldo Guayasamín (Spain and America, 1981). In Terminal T2 we can see a mosaic (Untitled, 1981) that measures 100 square meters made by Javier Clavo, as well as murals by Joan Pons (Homage to Leonardo da Vinci), Vaquero Turcios (Roads through the air) and a geometrical one by José María Labra; these enhance the check-in lobby since 1982. Recently, the mural by Javier de Juan entitled The Journey (2000) was relocated.

Among non-mural paintings exhibited in the different areas of the Madrid-Barajas Airport we have works by Juan Barjola (Tauromachy, 1980), Eduardo Úrculo (Strange times), Evaristo Guerra (Snow in the springtime, 1978), Fernando Mignoni (Collage 311, 1979), Luis García Ochoa (Landscape), Brinkmann (Figure, 1979), Fernando Zóbel (The prey 4, 1978), Antonio Molina Sánchez (Rest, 1973), Joaquín Sáenz (Courtyard and stairway) and Antonio Quirós (La ronda, 1973).

The airport also has a remarkable exhibition of graphic works by masters such as Luis Gordillo (Couple), Joan Miró (Ruisselante Solaire) and Antoni Tapies (Le Grande Grise and Composition in Red).

As for sculpture, the piece The three ladies from Barajas (2004) by Manolo Valdés is bound to become the symbol of Madrid-Barajas Airport's expansion, like the piece by Botero entitled The Rape of Europa already is for the present airport.

The “Three Ladies of Barajas“, located in the T4 check-in area, are three bronze busts, four metre tall and with a width of three meters on each side, that go by the names of La coqueta, (Coquette) La realista (Realist) and La soñadora (Dreamer). They are a few metres apart and seem to be conversing.

Each of them have a inscription of a text by Mario Vargas Llosa, written especially for the sculptures. The sculptures are in the Valencian figurist style, influenced by artists such as Velázquez, Zurbarán and Matisse.

Other remarkable sculptures include Doves at flight (1981), by Juan Haro; Bullfighter (1951), by Venancio Blanco, Lauda 1 (1981), by Pablo Palazuelo, and Untitled 1999, by Amador Rodríguez Menéndez. Figures, a work by José Planes Peñalver from 1951, is also found at the Madrid-Barajas airport facilities.

From the collection of mixed-media pieces we must mention an Untitled (1982) by Manuel Rivera and Metallic Integration 65, by Salvador Soria.

An important aim of this collection is to include remarkable pieces by renowned Spanish and Latin American artists and to integrate them into Aena's facilities, like we can see at the Madrid-Barajas Airport, whose architecture has followed avant-garde art trends in each of its successive expansions up to the latest one: Terminal T4.