Visionary abstraction in a medieval landmark
The Museum of Spanish Abstract Art, founded by the painter Fernando Zóbel (1924–1984), houses one of the most representative collections of Spanish abstract art from the second half of the 20th century. Located in the historic Casas Colgadas, a complex of 15th-century buildings built over the Huécar River gorge in the city of Cuenca, it opened its doors in 1966 as a pioneering initiative — a museum model that anticipated the artist-run spaces that emerged in many countries from the 1970s onward. As such, it helped shape the public context of contemporary Spanish art and became a benchmark within the national and international museum landscape.
Since 1981, following a donation by its founder, the museum has been owned and operated by the Juan March Foundation, which has continued Zóbel’s legacy by preserving the works, enriching its holdings and protecting the spaces that house them. In addition to a select collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and artists’ books, the museum has a library and archives, offers an exhibition program and organizes lectures, workshops and other initiatives, as well as an educational project aimed at diverse audiences.
Created in 1955 by the financier Juan March Ordinas, the Juan March Foundation is a family charitable institution with a mission to promote culture in Spain. Guided only by its commitment to quality and service to the community, the foundation undertakes curatorial research and presents exhibitions as the public outcome of these scholarly efforts. Since 2006, it has combined thesis-driven shows and presentations of historically lesser-known artists and movements with monographic exhibitions on key figures of modernity, many of which are shown for the first time in Spain.
Installation view of Eusebio Sempere, “Columns,” 1974
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