LAURA LÓPEZ BALZA
The drawings and paintings of Laura López Balza express a fervidness for the infinite richness and variety of what is observed, what is lived and what is imagined. In this selection of acrylic paintings on paper, as in all of Laura's work, vivid color is the point of departure for the artist to express her passionate embrace of nature, the landscape and everyday life, while also narrating her own life experiences and inner world. They are minimal stories - remembered, imagined, lived or idealized - that reflect desires, preferences or fears; but they are always a hymn to 'joie de vivre'. Laura paints to see, know and understand. Recognized for her intensity of chromatic interaction and a certain primitivism, her work pushes boundaries, while her gentle washes of pigment and chromatic vibration enable us to be transported into other worlds.
Laura López Balza
Buenos Días, Señora Montaña (Good Morning, Mrs. Mountain), 2024
oil on canvas
7 x 9 1/2 in
18 x 24 cm
Laura López Balza
El Encantamiento (The Enchantment), 2024
oil, acrylic and spray paint on board
22 1/2 x 14 1/2 in
57 x 37 cm
Laura López Balza
Navegaban Gracias al Cantar Mientras su Isla Quedaba a la Lejanía (They sailed thanks to singing while their island was in the distance), 2020
acrylic on paper
28 3/4 x 42 1/2 in
73 x 108 cm
Laura López Balza
La Última Habitante de la Alta Montaña (The Last Inhabitants of the Tall Mountain), 2024
oil on canvas
9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in
25 x 20 cm
Laura López Balza
Encuentro Entre Los Helechos Reales (Encounter Among the Royal Ferns) , 2024
oil and spray paint on canvas
20 1/2 x 26 1/2 in
52 x 67 cm
Laura López Balza
El Cantar no Podría Gobernar al Cocodrilo Hembra (Singing Could Not Rule the Female Crocodile) , 2021
acrylic on paper
28 3/4 x 42 1/2 in
73 x 108 cm
Laura López Balza
El Pueblo del Sur Tras La Lluvia de Dos Días (The Southern Village after the Two-day Rain), 2024
oil on canvas
7 3/4 x 9 3/4 in
20 x 25 cm
Laura López Balza
En Busca de Ditakh, el Gato Perdido de la Sabana (In Search of Ditakh, the Lost Cat of the Savannah), 2021
acrylic on paper
21 x 30 1/2 in
53.5 x 77.4 cm
Laura López Balza
La Inesperada Aparición de los Kankurang a los Niños del Mango (The Unexpected Appearance of the Kankurang to the Children of Mango), 2021
acrylic on paper
21 x 30 3/4 in
53.5 x 78 cm
Laura López Balza
Noche de Iniciación en el Bosque (Initiation Night in the Forest), 2021
acrylic on paper
30 1/2 x 21 in
77.5 x 53.5 cm
Laura López Balza
Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding), 2024
acrylic on paper
16 1/2 x 13 in
42 x 33 cm
Laura López Balza
Florero Diario (Daily Vase), 2023
acrylic on paper
15 3/4 x 11 1/2 in
40 x 29 cm
Laura López Balza
Chico con Máscara León (Boy with Lion Mask), 2021
acrylic on paper
16 1/2 x 11 3/4 in
42 x 30 cm
Laura López Balza
El Saludo (The Greeting), 2020
acrylic on paper
42 1/2 x 28 3/4 in
108 x 73 cm
Laura López Balza
Baobab Sagrado en Flor al Final del Hivernage (Sacred Baobab in Bloom at the End of Winterage), 2020
acrylic on paper
28 3/4 x 42 1/2 in
73 x 108 cm
EXHIBITIONS
GREEN MINDS
SEPTEMBER 8 - OCTOBER 24, 2022
SLICES
New Works by MPM Gallery Artists
OCTOBER 10 - NOVEMBER 11, 2024
LAURA LÓPEZ BALZA
Born 1984, Santander, Spain
Lives and works in Cantabria, Spain
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Laura López Balza graduated from the University of the Basque Country in Spain with a degree in Fine Arts. Between 2007 and 2009 she completed doctoral courses at the University of the Basque Country, and in 2016 she graduated with a degree in Philosophy from the University of Valladolid, Spain. Her artwork has been widely featured in exhibitions across Spain. Recent solo presentations include: El sueño de los dos pájaros (The Dream of the Two Birds) at Juan Silió Gallery, Santander; Un Paseo (A Walk), presented at CreaVA 22, Valladolid; Pintar para ver (Paint to see), La Gran gallery, Valladolid; and Mundos (Worlds) at Ó!Galeria, Porto. Selected group exhibitions include ESTAMPA 2023 Art Fair with Galería Juan Silió, Madrid; Impulso (Impulse), DA2 Domus Artium, Salamanca; Green Minds, curated by mepaintsme; We are not alone/ No we are alone, The curators room, Barcelona; Still Alive, coordinated by Carmen Quijano for the ArteSantander Fair, Cantabria; Vert-Jaune-Rouge (Green-Yellow-Red), Instituto Cervantes (2018), Dakar (2016); and In/out, Patio Herreriano Museum, Valladolid.
Balza has been the recipient of numerous residencies and awards, the most recent of which include: Nautilus Lanzarote Residency in the Canary Islands; the Plastic Arts Award from the Government of Cantabria; the UBE acquisition award, MARTE fair, Castellón; and Finalist in the Casimiro Sainz National Competition, Cantabria, 2021.
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EDUCATION
2012-2016 Graduated in Philosophy from the University of Valladolid
2007-2009 Doctoral courses at the University of the Basque Country
2002-2007 Graduated in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2022 Un Paseo exhibition presented within the framework of CreaVA 22, Valladolid
2021 Solo project with La Gran at the MARTE fair, Castellón
2021 The Journey, Arnuero Art Observatory, Cantabria
2019 Pinta Miami art fair, La Gran gallery, USA
2018 Paint to see, La Gran gallery, Valladolid
2016 Worlds, Ó!Galeria, Portugal
2016 Treasures of the Devenir, La Atómica gallery, Valladolid & Alexandra Creative Space, Cantabria.
2014 Life has a color. Microcosm everyday, Espacio California, Seville
2012 Bestiario, Miscelanëa Gallery, Barcelona
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Green Minds, MEPAINTSME, USA
2022 We are not alone/ We are not alone, The curators room, Barcelona office, Barcelona
2021 Collective exhibition ASPACE Cantabria & AGACC, Juan Silió Gallery, Santander
2021 Overture, Carabanchel, Madrid
2021 Still Alive, coordinated by Carmen Quijano for the ArteSantander Fair, Cantabria
2021 A world that does not exist”, La Gran gallery, Madrid
2020 20/20 Project. Border < 40, Association of Contemporary Art Galleries of Cantabria
2019 Guest room #1: modes of representation, Juan Silió gallery, Cantabria
2018 Green-Yellow-Red, Cervantes Classroom in Dakar, Senegal
2016 BMW Painting Award, Centro Galileo, Madrid
2016 Another fucking fair, Gallery 6+1, Madrid
2015 Tapir & Klotz, Kulturreich Gallery, Germany
2014 Girls just want to have fun, Astarté Gallery, Madrid
RESIDENCIES2018 La Doce Residency, Pontevedra
2017 Leon Adriaans Art Residency, Holland
2015 SIANOJA International Artists Symposium, Cantabria
2013 Artist Residency at LAVA (scholarship), Valladolid
AWARDS
2021 UBE acquisition award, MARTE fair, Castellón
2021 Finalist, Casimiro Sainz National competition, Cantabria
2019 Second prize, Manuel Ángeles Ortiz International Painting Competition IV
2017 Finalist, 33rd Rioja Young Art Exhibition, Rioj
2017 Finalist, Plastic Arts Award, Government of Cantabria
2012 First prize for painting at the Pancho Cossío National Young Art Contest, Cantabria
2012 Finalist for the Castilla y León Plastic Arts Award, Valladolid
2012-2013: Selected for the Catalan Contemporary Art Biennial, Barcelona
2010 and 2007: First prize in the Casimiro Sainz National Competition, Cantabria
COLLECTIONS
La Gaceta Foundation
Government of Cantabria
Eulogio Sánchez Collection
UBE Collection
Aldebaran Collection
University of Jaen