“My work is growing at the same time it is destroying itself”
José Luís Puche is considered nowadays one of the most acclaimed international spanish artists.
Self-taught. There are very important in his work the drawing and the creative process. His mark is the experimentation with materials as oil charcoal and water, to achieve a brand mark ‘Puche’.
José Luis Puche (SPAIN, 1976) has a PhD in art history. His career as an artist took off in 2005 when he held his first solo show in his home city. By 2008, just three years later, he was able to break into the international scene.
Drawing is the pivot around which his work revolves, and he evidences a truly astonishing technical skill in this field, considering that he is self-taught but perhaps also because of his uninhibited approach. As a draughtsman, his learning process is the slow result of a fierce determination from early childhood, and both his technical knowledge and stylistic evolution owe everything to the selective voracity of his gaze and the insistent exercise of the trained hand. In his mimetic drawings he uses the colors demanded by the drawing itself, sometimes just black and white, sometimes very colorful tones that catch the spectator’s eye. The alleged emotional indifference of the color grey is offset in his work by a very physical touch of the pencil that turns the drawing into a passionate corporal dance. Equally clear is the artist’s natural tendency to experiment with the materials up to the point, for example, of using oil-based charcoal to achieve a watercolor effect. His inclination to represent reality as fiction is plainly obvious. The exploration of reality that Puche practices ultimately elevates the value of the apparent to the status of real.
His works distinctly evoke uncertainty, generating a sense of disquiet. During his career, Puche has exhibited in prestigious venues like Centre Pompidou, CAC Málaga or the Sydney Opera House, where he was the only Spanish artist invited to take part in the group show 9 Hours Underground curated by Kate Smith. He has also exhibited at fairs such as the YIA Art Fair (Paris) or the Basel Scope Art Show in New York and Switzerland. In the last few years, Puche has exhibited in Madrid and Palma de Mallorca, Brussels (Belgium) and hosted a solo show in Istanbul (Turkey).
He has also won several prizes and distinctions, including the lnternational Emerging Artists Award in 2016 (Dubai) and the first price of the International Art Award Manuel Ángeles Ortiz (Jaen University).
The actor and director Antonio Banderas commissioned him a solo project for the Caixabank Soho Theater, a mural of more than six meters, inaugurated at the end of 2019. He was the painter chosen by the Agrupación de Cofradías de Málaga to create the Easter 2020 poster. This poster was also presented at Fitur 2020 (Madrid). His creations could also be seen recently in September 2021 at the University of Jaen, Madrid and Córdoba.
His projects will be on view in January 2022, in a solo show at the Olsen Gallery in Sydney.
2021 XX edición de SCARPIA titled “Pintura de historias”. XX edition of SCARPIA entitled “Painting of stories”. Located at Scarpia, Córdoba.
Hummingbird. Stiches. Solo show at University of Jaén in `Sala de Exposiciones Antigua Escuela de Magisterio´, Andalucía, Spain. (September-December).
Site Specific ‘Silvia Moreno POOM’ in Madrid.
Site Specific ‘Silvia Moreno POOM’ in Málaga.
2020 Fitur Madrid. Poster for the Holly Week with Agrupación de Cofradías and City Council
Poster for the Holy Week 2020 in the Theatre Echegaray (Málaga)
2019 Specific project: “All possible worlds” (Soho Caixabank theatre) ordered by Antonio Banderas.
2018 ‘The rivals of the sea’. Merkur Gallery. Estambul (Turquía).
‘Lo que vieron los vientos del sur’. Nit de l’Art. Galería Xavier Fiol. Palma de Mallorca.
‘Como nieve que baila’. CAC Málaga.
‘Nit de l’Art’. Galería Xavier Fiol. Palma de Mallorca.
‘En el nombre de los pájaros’. Galería Madrid XF Proyectos. Madrid.
2017 Centre Pompidou Málaga. Intervención producida para MAF Málaga.
2016 Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo Marte. Espacio Nuca Castellón.
2015 Feria Arte Contemporáneo ‘Arte Santander’. Solo Project “Presente lo ausente”. Galería Yusto-Giner. Santander .
‘Never Before’. Galería Yusto-Giner. Marbella/Málaga .
2014 ‘La natura y el éxito’. Galería Xavier Fiol. Palma de Mallorca.
2012 ‘Hueso diminuto’. Sala UNICAJA. Antequera. Málaga.
2011 ‘Infidelidad icónica’. La Sala de Blas (personal gallery). Archidona. Málaga .
2009 ‘Plug & Play’. Centro de Iniciativas Universitarias. Universidad de Málaga.
2008 ‘Next Stop’. Saint Martin’s Church. Birmingham (England). Comisaria: María Regla García Bernal .
2007 ‘Underword’. Sala Moreno Villa. Concejalía de Cultura. Ayuntamiento de Málaga.
2021 Collective exhibition “El verbo encarnado” in the Cathedral of Málaga curated by Miguel Ángel Blanc.
Navegantes 3. Navigators Project. City Council of Seville.
2020 “Collection of contemporary works from around the world”. International online group exhibition curated by Kate Smith. May 2020 (Sydney).
2019 ‘30 II part’ Galería Xavier Fiol. Palma de Mallorca.
2018 ‘Manuel de sabotaje’ Galería Punto. Valencia.
‘Máxima recorre abismos’ Sala El convent, Spai D’Art. Villa-Real.
‘Madre’ Casa Sostoa. Málaga.
‘Art Marbella’. Galería Xavier Fiol. Marbella/Málaga.
‘Art Karlsruhe’. Galería Victor Lope. Karlsruhe (Alemania).
‘Extraña Varsovia’. Diputación de Málaga.
‘World Neighbours’. Fundación Valentín de Madariaga. Sevilla.
2017 ‘9 hours Underground’. Opera House Sydney (Australia) .
‘Scope New York Art Show’. Galería Victor Lope. New York (USA).
‘Scope Miami Beach’. Galería Víctor Lope (USA).
‘Yia Art Fair Paris’. Galería Victor Lope. París (Francia).
‘Art Bassel Scope’. Galería Victor Lope. Basilea (Suiza).
‘Art Bodensee’. Galería Victor Lope. Dornbirn (Austria) .
‘Yia Art Fair’. Galería Victor Lope. Bruselas (Bélgica) .
‘Amics de la paraula’. Galería Xavier Fiol. Palma de Mallorca.
‘Capital Animal’. Centre del Carme. Valencia.
2016 ‘Equus’. Galería Olsen Irwin. Sydney (Australia) .
Galería TAG. Bruselas (Bélgica) .
‘UNDER 1000’. E.M.A. Dubai (Emiratos Árabes) .
‘Imago Mundi’. Fundación Cini de Venezia (Italia). Benetton Fundation.
‘Superstición y manipulación’. 13ª Bienal de Arte Fundación Martínez Guerricabeitia. Valencia .
Feria Art Marbella. Galería Xavier Fiol. Marbella/Málaga.
‘Dibujos Ilustrados’. Shakespeare y Cervantes. Curator: Concha Hermano. Cuarto Real de Granada.
‘Golpe y dejadez’. Casa Sostoa. Málaga.
2015 ‘Espejos en la sombra’. Galería Factoría del Arte y Desarrollo. Madrid.
Feria Arte Contemporáneo ‘Estampa’. Galería Xavier Fiol. Madrid.
‘Nit de l’Art’. Museo Casal Son Tugores. Alaró/Mallorca.
Feria Arte Contemporáneo ‘Art Marbella’. Galería Yusto-Giner. Marbella/Málaga.
‘Apaños’. Galería Crótalo Triángulo. Sevilla.
2014 ‘Neighbors’. CAC Málaga. (Colección permanente del CAC de Málaga). Comisario: Fernando Francés.
‘SUMMER HOURS’. Galería Xavier Fiol. Alaró. Mallorca.
‘Acción’. Gravura. Programa MAF (Málaga de Festival) . Málaga.
2013 Nord Art. Centro Arte Contemporáneo Kunstwerk Carlshütte de Büdelsdorf (Alemania). Final del Certamen Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo Nord Art.
‘KM 0’. Galería Yusto/Giner. Marbella/Málaga).
‘Sinergias’. Espacio Pipoca. Barcelona (Por convocatoria internacional) .
‘Okupart’. Proyecto Maus/Soho Málaga. Comisariado por Fernando Francés .
‘Mundo Mínimo’. Gravura. Málaga.
ARCO MADRID. Galería Xavier Fiol. Madrid .
“La vida. El momento es ahora y será después”. CUC Unicaja.
FACBA’13. La Sala de Blas. Facultad de Bellas Artes. Granada .
2012 ‘TRAMA’. Sala 59 Rivoli. Paris. (France).
Exposición colectiva ‘Amathing, Amathink, Amazing’. Xavier Fiol Gallery. Palma de Mallorca .
2010 ‘ESPACIOATLANTICO’. AM Gallery. Vigo.
2010 Arte Gira City 2010 Galería MECA. Almería .
2008 Final del concurso provincial de Málaga. Sala Diputación de Málaga . Málaga.
Final MALAGACREA. CAC Málaga. (Centro de Arte Contemporáneo) . Málaga.
2006 Final del concurso de Arte Contemporáneo de Almería .
Final del concurso IAJ . Palacio Episcopal de Málaga. Jóvenes artistas andaluces. Málaga .
Centro Arganzuela de Madrid. Muestra de jóvenes artistas. Madrid .
2017 First price at International Art Award Manuel Ángeles Ortiz. Jaén University
2016 Finalist at 13ª Biennal Martínez Guerricabeitia. Valencia
Finalist at International Emergent Artist Awards. He was chosen from between 25 international artists. Dubai
2014 Finalist at International Emergent Artist Awards. Dubai.
2013 Finalist at “North Art” International Contemporary Art Contest. Büdelsdorf, Germany
2008 Special mention “Malagacrea”. Málaga City Hall
2006 First Award Contemporary Art “Ciudad de Almería”. Almeria City Hall
Finalist of the IAJ Plastic Arts Contest.Counseling for Equality and Social Welfare. Junta de Andalucía
2004 First Award “Arte Joven”. Junta de Andalucía. Seville
Award for acquirement in Art at the UMA. Málaga University
Honorable mention “Vol-Art”. Madrid City Hall
Special mention “Malagacrea”
Malaga City Hall award
2003 First award Cajamar. Málaga
2001 Finalist “Malagacrea”. Málaga City Hall
Solo show, January 2022 Olsen Gallery in Sydney (Australia).
Solo show, 2022 in South Korea.