MADRID.- Ángela de la Cruz (1965, A Coruña, Spain) studied Philosophy at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain before moving to London in the 1980s, where she obtained a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, London, UK and an MA in Sculpture and Critical Theory from Slade School of Art, London, UK.
In 2010, De la Cruz was nominated for the Turner Prize and was the recipient of the Paul Hamlyn award in the UK. In 2017, she received the Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas in Spain. In 2021, de la Cruz received the Sunny Dupree Family Award for a Woman Artist and in 2022 she was nominated for the David and Yuko Juda Foundation Grant.
From the beginning of her career, De la Cruz has been deeply engaged in exploring the nature of painting. What defines painting? What are its material limits? And, crucially, when does it cease to be painting and become something else?
De la Cruz’s artistic exploration has focused on dismantling traditional painting to give it a physical presence and vulnerability. Her art is an intimate journey through matter and the explaration of human body and the realities of everyday survival. By doing so, not only does she blur the limits between painting and sculpture, but she also delves into a territory where the work itself reflects on its own existence. Violent, unapologetic, and often infused with dark humor, her work conveys a visceral emotion, breaking through the boundaries of established pictorial conventions.
Exhibition highlights include: Bulto, Travesía Cuatro CDMX, Mexico (2025); Stuck, Casal Solleric Art Centre, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (2024); Larger than Life, Museo Cabañas, Guadalajara, Mexico (2021); Homeless, curated by Carolina Grau, at CGAC, Santiago de Compostela (2019) and Azkuna Zentroa, Bilbao, Spain (2018); Shut up and Paint, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2016); Escombros / Debris, curated by Carolina Grau, Fundación Luis Seoane, A Coruña, Spain and Centre d’Art la Panera, Lleida, Spain (2015); Traspaso, Helga de Alvear, Madrid (2014); Colour me in, Esbjerg Art Museum, Denmark (2014); Delimitations, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv (2012); After, Camden Arts Centre, London (2010); Soft Sculpture, National Gallery, Canberra (2009), among many others.
Public collections include: Museo Nacional de Centro Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; TATE Collection, London; British Council Collection, United Kingdom; Contemporary Art Society, United Kingdom; Fundación La Caixa, Barcelona; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; GOMA / Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; FRAC, Nord Pas de Calais, Dunkerque, France; University Collection, Bruxelles; as well as private and corporate collections in Australia, Europe, and the United States.
The artist lives and works in London, UK.
