Afternoon at the museum
Andy Warhol and Pollock exhibition in Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, until January 2026
As I mentioned in my previous post, autumn has arrived in almost all time zones, unless you're lucky enough to be in a coastal, Latin American, or Asian country, which are currently moving in the opposite direction to my European time zone (lucky you!).
When autumn arrives, the weekends we want to savor the city. Whether it's our own or in another country, it's the best time to put on a warm trench coat, stroll, have a coffee, go shopping, and have a good hot meal to get the best of our time before the colder winter comes.
In almost all European cities, due to our vast cultural heritage, there are numerous museums to explore and delight. This happens in Spain, where, as I mentioned in the key Luxcape destinations, cities like Seville, Barcelona, and Madrid boast important works by recognized painters like Velazquez, and modern artists like the exhibition we saw at the Thyssen-Bornemitza Museum featuring Andy Warhol and Pollock. This exhibition will be on display until January 2026, and I invite you to come see it on your next visit.
I admit I'm not a big fan of Warhol because his use of vignettes, icons, and photographs seems (wrongly) to me to have less merit than an oil painting, with meticulously chosen thick or thin lines. However, since I saw him at the MoMA in NYC, I felt in love with Pollock. His paintings are a little sad, expressing anger and existential anguish, but they contain a lot of passion. From a distance, they look like mere doodles, but if you look closely, you can see all the things he hides in his paintings. It reminds me a bit of my life in NYC, the biggest cities of all: love and hate, ups and downs, and a bit of existential reflection. Pollock painted on the floor; he didn't use traditional methods or brushes; he used sticks or knives, and perhaps that harshness of life led him to die young in an accident due to his unsolved alcoholism.
Paintings and art open new doors for us, inspire us to new journeys or adventures, give us peace of mind, or awaken new emotions. After spending time at the museum, I invite you to have a traditional coffee at the The Westin Palace Hotel café recently fully renovated, do some shopping at Galería Canalejas (if you're hungry, you can have a couple of Chinese baos), and end the night at Dani Brasserie with a cocktail or prosecco enjoy the best views of the city. Don't miss out on visiting wonderful cities like Madrid, as well as investing your time and money in new plans that fulfill your mind and soul.