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| Roman Valencia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Roman Valencia |
| Birth date | 1972 |
| Birth place | Madrid, Spain |
| Occupation | Painter, sculptor, installation artist |
| Nationality | Spanish |
Roman Valencia is a contemporary Spanish artist known for interdisciplinary practice spanning painting, sculpture, and installation. His work engages with urban transformation, migration, and memory through layered materials and archival interventions. Valencia has exhibited across Europe and the Americas and is associated with several artist residencies and public commissions.
Valencia was born in Madrid and raised in the context of post-Franco Spain during the transition associated with the Spanish transition to democracy, the influence of the Movida Madrileña, and the cultural policy shifts under the Ministry of Culture. He studied at the Complutense University of Madrid where he took courses intersecting with studios linked to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. Early mentorships included collaborations with faculty from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid and visiting artists from the Royal Academy of Arts. Valencia later enrolled in postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art in London, participating in seminars that involved curators from the Tate Modern and critics associated with the Serpentine Galleries. During his formative years he participated in exchange programs with the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich and apprenticeships under sculptors connected to the Musée d'Orsay conservation workshops.
Valencia’s professional trajectory includes studio practice, teaching appointments, and curatorial projects. He maintained a studio in Madrid’s Lavapiés neighborhood before relocating temporarily to a studio complex in Berlin near the Kulturforum. His early teaching posts were at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Goldsmiths, University of London, where he taught alongside faculty formerly of the Slade School of Fine Art. Valencia’s curatorial collaborations involved partnerships with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and he has served on advisory panels for the European Capital of Culture program and the Istanbul Biennial selection committee. He held artist residencies at the Villa Medici in Rome, the ART OMI center in New York, and the Hangar collective in Barcelona.
Notable series by Valencia include the "Thresholds" paintings, the "Archive of Returns" installations, and the "Cartographies" sculptural ensembles. "Thresholds" premiered at a solo exhibition at the Museo Reina Sofía satellite project space and later traveled to the Fundació Joan Miró for a thematic pairing with work by Antoni Tàpies. "Archive of Returns" was shown at the Venice Biennale collateral events and at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in a curated exchange with the Walker Art Center. Valencia’s public commissions include a large-scale installation for the CentroCentro in Madrid and a permanent work sited at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao satellite program for urban art. Group exhibitions featuring his work have appeared at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Musée National d'Art Moderne (Centre Pompidou), and the Palais de Tokyo alongside exhibitions organized by curators from the British Council and the Instituto Cervantes.
Valencia’s practice synthesizes material histories and urban narratives, drawing on methodologies associated with the Arte Povera movement and conceptual strategies linked to Minimalism and Postmodernism. He cites influences from artists such as Manuel Álvarez Bravo for photographic sensibilities, Louise Bourgeois for sculptural approaches to memory, and Anselm Kiefer for material density. Theoretical influences include writers and critics from the Frankfurter Schule as well as historians associated with the Annales school. Valencia often incorporates archival ephemera sourced from the Archivo General de la Administración and municipal records from the Ayuntamiento de Madrid, combining found objects with pigments and industrial materials supplied by workshops connected to the Royal Academy of Arts conservation studios.
Recognition for Valencia’s work includes major fellowships and awards: a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Prince Claus Fund award, and a residency fellowship from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. He has been shortlisted for the Turner Prize-adjacent commissions and received municipal cultural awards from the Community of Madrid and the Barcelona City Council. Valencia’s projects have been supported by the European Cultural Foundation and he has been a nominee for the Hugo Boss Prize as presented by curators associated with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Valencia maintains studios in Madrid and Lisbon and has lectured at institutions including the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Centro de Arte y Comunicación (CAYC). Colleagues and critics from publications such as Artforum, Frieze, and ArtReview have positioned his work within contemporary dialogues about migration and urban memory, comparing aspects of his practice to that of Jorge Oteiza and Cildo Meireles. His legacy includes contributions to municipal cultural policy through advisory roles with the Spanish Ministry of Culture and mentorship of emerging artists via programs run by the British Council and the European Union Cultural Programme. His archives have been acquired in part by the Museo Reina Sofía and the Archivo General de la Administración for future study.
Category:Spanish artists Category:Contemporary painters Category:Contemporary sculptors