A work by Ukrainian artist Nikita Kadan has been added to the collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid. This took place as part of Spain receiving a portion of the collection of the private foundation TBA21, founded by Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, reports Suspilne Culture, citing the museum.
The total value of the assets that TBA21 is transferring to the Spanish state is almost €100 million.
It has not yet been disclosed which specific work by Kadan has entered the state collection. Alongside the Ukrainian artist’s work, pieces by Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, Olafur Eliasson, Pierre Huyghe, Bill Viola, Nikita Kadan and others have also been transferred.
To accommodate the new works and create a dedicated space for them, the museum is expanding. Contemporary art will be exhibited at a new site in the former Ice and Automobile Palace building — just a few metres from the museum’s main building.
The new space is intended to be more than just an exhibition venue. Educational and research programmes are planned there, along with initiatives to develop engagement with visitors and the local community.
TBA21 (Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary) was founded in 2002 by collector and philanthropist Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza. In 2019, the foundation opened its headquarters in Madrid and began working more closely with the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.
The TBA21 collection specialises in contemporary art and includes painting, sculpture, installations, performance, video, sound and digital art. The foundation pays particular attention to ecology, climate change and social justice, as well as to artists from the Global South, Indigenous communities and creators who have historically been under-represented in European museum collections.
As the newspaper “Estet” writes, in addition to Nikita Kadan, the TBA21 collection includes works by Pavlo Makov, Roman Khimey and Yarema Malashchuk. In 2026, the foundation organised Khimey and Malashchuk’s exhibition “Pedagogies of War” at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.