Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM)

Frommer's Review

This contemporary art center jump-started a renaissance of art in Valencia. The giant complex consists of two sites: an ultramodern building and a 13th-century former convent. Its opening gained Valencia prime status among the world's art capitals.

Julio González Centre is named for the avant-garde Spanish artist whose paintings, sculptures, and drawings form the nucleus of the permanent collection. Much influenced by Picasso, González was a pioneer in iron sculpture. His work in turn exerted a profound influence on the American sculptor David Smith, among others.

The other site is the nearby Center del Carmen, the old convent, with cloisters from the 14th and the 16th centuries. It devotes three halls to changing exhibits of contemporary art. Permanent displays include works of Ignacio Pinazo, whose paintings and drawings mark the beginning of modernism in Valencia. The institute is on the western edge of the old quarter, near the Torres de Quart, 15th-century towers that guard the entrance to the city.

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