Just a few meters from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Plaza de la Reina, this new cultural center allows visitors to explore 22 centuries of history in one place. The private collection of patron Hortensia Herrero, featuring over 100 pieces, includes works by world-renowned artists such as Andreas Gursky, Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz, Anish Kapoor, Mat Collishaw, Cristina Iglesias, Ann Veronica Janssens, Eduardo Chillida, and Tony Cragg, whose creations are exhibited in museums like the MOMA, the Tate Gallery, and the Pompidou.
In addition to international names, the center also highlights the presence of Valencian artists such as Juan Genovés, Andreu Alfaro, Antonio Girbés, Miquel Navarro, and Elena del Rivero, who share space with renowned figures like David Hockney, El Anatsui, and Peter Halley, or the Spanish artists Miquel Barceló, Blanca Muñoz, and Joan Miró, displayed across 17 exhibition rooms.
The building housing the center is the restored Palacio Valeriola, a 17th-century Baroque construction that is, in itself, an architectural gem. This palace encapsulates the history of Valencia, from Roman, Visigothic, and Islamic eras to the Christian period. During the renovation, a fragment of the Roman circus of the ancient city of Valentia was discovered, the most imposing construction of the 2nd century AD, covering an area equivalent to more than three football fields. Remains of two fountains from an Islamic courtyard of the great house of Haçach Habinbadel were also found, one of which can be viewed in good condition.
Six internationally acclaimed artists have created site-specific interventions in various corners of the center. Jaume Plensa has intervened in the apse connecting the palace with the garden using letters and symbols from different alphabets. Tomás Saraceno has created an installation of six irregular tetrahedrons and dodecahedrons resembling clouds. Sean Scully has filled the old palace chapel with color, while Olafur Eliasson has brought a tunnel to life with two distinct viewpoints. Finally, Mat Collishaw pays homage to the Fallas through a video, solidifying the Hortensia Herrero Art Center as a cultural landmark in Valencia.
