>> The master’s program facilitates the entry of its artists into real professional contexts and fosters connections with gallerists, curators, collectors, and other figures within the national art scene.
>> Rebeca Morey, Óscar González, Mar Font, Marc Rieke, and Aina Parpal are participating in the Madrid fair as part of the training model of the Master’s in Professional Development for Contemporary Artistic Practice.
Five artists from ADEMA’s Master’s program in Professional Development for Contemporary Artistic Practice will participate in Estampa Madrid at IFEMA from September 24 to 27, presenting a selection of works that encompasses diverse languages and lines of research within contemporary creative practice.
Rebeca Morey, Mar Font, Marc Rieke, Aina Parpal, and Óscar González will present their projects in one of the art sector’s professional spaces, where they will be able to connect with gallerists, curators, collectors, artists, and other figures linked to contemporary art.
Amparo Sard, Director of the Master’s program and Head of Studies for the Fine Arts degree at ADEMA, explained that one of the program’s main objectives is “to introduce students to top-tier art circuits and—during their training itself—bring them closer to the professional reality they will encounter as they develop their careers.” “We do not want learning to end with the production of a work. It is important for artists to know how to present their work, construct and defend their artistic statement, and engage with the various stakeholders within the contemporary art system,” Sard noted.
Participation in Estampa thus forms part of the master’s program’s professional dimension, which combines research and artistic production with an understanding of the mechanisms for the exhibition, circulation, and public presentation of the work.
For the participants, “the fair also offers an opportunity to put their research to the test outside the academic context.” In this regard, they particularly value the chance to gain firsthand insight into the workings of an art fair, present their proposals to professionals and new audiences, and establish contacts relevant to the development of their respective careers.
Five investigations and different languages
The selection presented by ADEMA brings together painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, installation, and experimental processes, featuring inquiries that address issues such as the body, memory, identity, the transformation of matter, and new ways of inhabiting physical and digital spaces.
Rebeca Morey will present five works created in 2026: three glazed ceramic sculptures and two photopolymer prints. Her research stems from the deconstruction of the body and its transformation into matter through organic, visceral, and ambiguous forms. The selection also establishes a dialogue between sculpture and printmaking, centering on the body, matter, and formal tension.
Mar Font participates with *Malas hierbas* (Weeds), a sculptural series constructed as an artificial garden of hybrid, hard-to-classify bodies. The artist approaches the body as a territory in transformation and explores the in-between spaces where identity, mutation, desire, and resistance remain under constant construction.
Óscar González will present *PlaceHolder*, a welded steel sculpture measuring 210 by 110 by 70 centimeters that stems from research into abandoned virtual worlds. The work brings architectures from uninhabited digital environments into physical space and prompts a reflection on the relationship between architecture, memory, and community in the digital age.
Marc Rieke’s practice centers on perception, materiality, and transformation. His work moves between sculpture, installation, printmaking, photography, and experimental processes, employing materials such as human hair, leather, resin, and organic matter to question conventional systems of interpretation and explore states that are difficult to categorize.
Aina Parpal focuses her painting practice on everyday life, memory, and situated experience. Drawing upon people, landscapes, and situations from her immediate surroundings—particularly Mallorca—she works with color, materiality, and gesture to transform autobiographical experiences and seemingly ordinary moments into images capable of taking on a shared dimension.
The presence of the five artists at Estampa will allow these lines of inquiry to be brought into a professional context and enable the exploration of aspects central to any contemporary creator’s career—ranging from the presentation and contextualization of the work to dialogue with other artists, industry professionals, and new audiences. Amparo Sard concludes that “this participation reflects an innovative, practical, and dynamic academic model that seeks to link education, research, and artistic practice with the actual workings of the cultural sector, thereby helping students develop professional tools, networks, and experience while still in training.”
“We want students to learn by doing, developing projects that they can present, defend, and circulate within the professional sphere. Participating in a fair like Estampa allows that entire process of research, creation, and reflection to move beyond the academic setting and engage with artists, gallerists, curators, collectors, and the public,” noted Sard.