The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum is expanding: by 2032 , it will have a new 19,500 m² venue on Calle Duque de Medinaceli in Madrid’s Barrio de las Letras neighborhood, and it will be dedicated primarily to 21st-century art.
The building chosen, which dates back to 1922, formerly housed the Ice and Automobile Palace —a pioneering structure due to its use of reinforced concrete—and had been disused since 2007. And on Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance, the property’s owner, announced that it will transfer the property and cover the cost of its renovation so that it can be converted into a major new exhibition space in the capital.
The expansion will, not surprisingly, add 10,000 m² to the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. Once renovated, it will have a total floor area of approximately 19,500 square meters, including “a 1,500-square-meter courtyard-garden open for outdoor exhibitions and events,” according to the ministry itself.
“Where today we have a closed building, we want there to be exhibitions tomorrow, schools holding workshops, researchers at work, conservators caring for the artworks, concerts […] because we don’t simply want a bigger museum; we want a more useful museum,” said Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun during the presentation ceremony.
A venue dedicated to 21st-century art
The works to be exhibited at this second Thyssen location will consist primarily of 21st-century art, and more than 180 works from the TBA21 Collection will be added to the museum’s holdings as a result of a donation by Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza—founder of the TBA21 Collection and daughter of the baron—and her heirs.
In addition, it will also provide a long-term loan of nearly 180 other works of contemporary art: “My father taught me that a collection is not a possession but a conversation with the world; it is an asset that one holds, briefly, in trust,” in the words of Francesca.
This new venue will also house the 21st-century art collection of Borja Thyssen and his wife, Blanca Cuesta, which includes works by artists such as Francis Picabia, Alex Katz, André Butzer, Ross Bleckner, Peter Halley, and Kenny Scharf.