Exhibitions

19 artists participate in the exhibition 'A Room of One's Own. Artists from the Fundación CAI Collection'

Alexandra Planas zaragoza - 11/11/26

The CAI Caja Inmaculada Foundation (Fundación CAI) inaugurated last Tuesday, November 10, at the i_10 Room of the Joaquín Roncal Center the exhibition "A Room of One's Own. Artists in the Fundación CAI Collection," which brings together works by 19 women artists from different generations, origins, and disciplines and offers a journey through nearly half a century of contemporary creation.

The exhibition proposes a look at the role of women in artistic creation and, at the same time, reivindicates the legacy of the Luzán Room, one of Zaragoza's reference exhibition spaces for four decades. Through the works preserved in the Fundación CAI Collection, the exhibition reconstructs the trajectory of artists who found in that room a place to present their proposals to the public.

"The exhibition brings together works by women artists who, at different times and with very diverse languages, were part of the programming of the Luzán Room and today are integrated into the Fundación CAI Collection. Their presence tells us about talent, creativity, and also the need to recognize the contributions that so many women have made to the history of contemporary art," said the president of Fundación CAI, José Ramón Auría, during the inauguration of the exhibition. "From Fundación CAI we want our spaces to continue to be open places for meeting, thinking, and artistic expression, where people can share knowledge, emotion, and beauty," he added.

A Room of One's Own for 19 Creators

The title of the exhibition refers to the essay published in 1929 by Virginia Woolf, in which the writer defended the need for women to have economic independence and their own space to develop their creativity. A reflection that serves as a starting point to remember how, for decades, obtaining a solo exhibition was a particularly significant step in the career of many artists.

The journey brings together 18 creators who exhibited in the former Luzán Room and adds the work of Marta Bernad, who presented her work at the i_10 Room in 2026.

They are artists of different generations, origins, and languages. Among them are Juana Francés, founding member of the El Paso group, and Amalia Avia, one of the great voices of Madrid realism. Also present is the abstraction of Julia Dorado, Teresa Ramón, and Teresa Salcedo; the luminosity of María Girona; the art of a geometric root by Elena Asins or Soledad Sevilla; and the ceramics of María Bofill, Madola, and Elena Colmeiro. The selection also includes the conceptual photography of Begoña Montalbán, the mysticism and female beauty of Mapi Rivera, and the play of light and shadow by Eulàlia [name incomplete in the original text].

"When reviewing the archive of the Fundación CAI Collection, we saw that there was a large percentage of women artists in the collection, around 22%, well above the Spanish and Aragonese average," detailed Sara Gimeno during the inauguration, one of the curators of the exhibition together with Sara Arruga and Myriam Monterde. "The Luzán Room was a pioneer in exhibitions of women artists, dedicating solo exhibitions to them. We thought it was relevant to show these particularities and this work by Fundación CAI," she emphasized.

From Amalia Avia to Marta Bernad: a story that continues

The Luzán Room opened its doors in 1977 at the headquarters of the Caja de Ahorros de la Inmaculada, on Paseo de la Independencia, number 10, in Zaragoza, and for four decades hosted exhibitions by notable names in contemporary art.

In 1980, Amalia Avia became the first woman to star in a solo exhibition in this space. Many others came after: painters, sculptors, ceramists, printmakers, and photographers, some already established and others just beginning to make their way.

The acquisition of works after the exhibitions gradually allowed building a contemporary art collection that today exceeds 2,000 pieces and constitutes a testimony to the cultural activity developed by the entity.

Although the Luzán Room closed in November 2017, its legacy continues since 2019 at the i_10 Room of the Joaquín Roncal Center, where Fundación CAI maintains its commitment to bring contemporary creation closer to citizens.

This exhibition can be visited until January 24, 2027, Monday to Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.