Biography

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Carlos Irijalba [Pamplona, 1979] former resident at the Rijksakademie of Amsterdam 2013/2014, Graduated at the Basque Country University and UDK Berlin en 2004.
Awarded with the Guggenheim Bilbao Photography Grant in 2003 and the Marcelino Botín Art Grant in 2007/08 also received the Shifting Foundation Grant and first Prize and the Revelation PhotoEspaña Prize among others. Irijalba has exhibited at international Art Museums, including the CCCB Barcelona, MUMA Melbourne or LMCC New York.

Irijalba’s work is driven by the principle of pertinence, the necessary or superfluous character of an object to cohabit the existing world. The drive to be selective and responsible for the objects we secrete, as sometimes silence or void is the best contribution. From that position the work focuses on the potential relation of object, image or installation to activate the places they inhabit and react towards an existing environment using human space-time scale as the measure to understand the world. The work reacts to the relative experience of time, space and the fictional construction of the territory. Here, geological tempo, natural and manmade cycles are crucial to position our dimension to enhance the criticality of the very current moment.

In recent projects as Skins 2015 or Muscle memory 2016 the exercise is exogenous to an existing system, if a physiological metaphor may apply, his work tries to act on a particular company or atelier as an enzyme that affects the result of a digestive process. When intervening on an atelier specialized in geological replicas, or another one developing metal foam tissue, he tres to mirror their activity for the work to become self-aware. In essence a distillation of an industrial dynamic’s own self, sometimes against their functional purpose, against the grain, to liberate new debris and connotations.

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CURRICULUM VITAE

STUDIES

2013/14
  • Rijksakademie van beeldende kunste. Amsterdam.
2009
  • ISCP. International Studio Program. New York.
2004
  • UDK. Universität der Kunst. Prof. Lothar Baumgarten. Berlin.
  • Graduated in Fine Arts at the UPV Basque Country University.
1998
  • Graduated at the Pamplona School of Art. Pamplona.

EXHIBITIONS [SELECTION]

2021
  • Joined an avalanche, never to be alone again. Solo exhibition at Tale of a Tub curated by Julia Gerlings, Rotterdam (Netherlands).
  • Ω Omega Group exhibition curated by Gabriel Lester
 at ElectriciteitsFabriek Den Haag (Netherlands).
  • Shanghai Biennale. Bodies of water. Power Station of Art (Shanghai, China) Curated by You Mi, Andres Jaque and Marina Otero.
  • And the wall became allergic to humans. Three solo exhibitions: Altamira Museum, Biblioteca Central de Cantabria and Juan Silió Gallery (Cantabria, Spain)
  • Via Tópica. Fundacion Maria Forcada (Tudela, Spain).
  • Cronografias. Curated by Juan Bautista Peiró.Fundación Mediterraneo. (Alicante, Spain)
2020
  • Bajo la Superficie. Curated by Javier Martin-Jimenez. Centro Conde Duque. (Madrid)
  • Cronografias. Fundacion Mediterraneo (Valencia. Spain).
  • The essential Goods Show. Fisher Parrish Gallery (New York, United States).
  • Extemporáneo. Solo show. Museo de Navarra. (Pamplona).
  • Una dimensión Ulterior. Curated by Javier Hontoria, Museo Patio Herreriano (Valladolid)
  • Cielos Abiertos. CDAN Centro de Arte y Naturaleza (Huesca)
  • Artists’ Escap ES Centro Cultural Galileo. (Madrid)
2019
  • Premio internacional Maria Jose Jove. (A Coruña).
  • Atracción y resistencia. Curated by Rosario Sarmiento and Alberto Cartón. Centro de exposiciones Palexco. (Galicia)
  • 25 años de Itinerarios. Botin Art Center Santander.(Cantabria)
2018
  • Endotic. Galeria Moises Perez de Albeniz. (Madrid).
  • Region (narratives) Changes in the landscape and the politics of water. Curated by Alfredo Puente and Bruno Marcos at MUSAC Museo (León)
2017
  • Guangzhou Triennial curated by Zeng Han and Bao Dong. Guangdong Museum of Contemporary Art (China).
  • Notes on our equilibrium. Curated by Evelyn Simons and Eleonore de Sadeleer at CAB Art Center (Brussels)
  • Región (narratives) Changes in landscape and the politics of water.MUSAC Museum and Cerezales Foundation (Spain)
  • On the turn of the century Curated by Benjamin Weil at Centro Botin Santander (Spain).
  • Espacio-tiempo. Curated by Sema D’Acosta at Da2 Museum Salamanca (Spain).
  • A Myriad of voices. Curated by La Fabrica. D.C. Cultural Center. Washington D.C. (USA)
2016
  • Race to the bottom. Curated by Joram Kraaijeveld at Schloss Ringenberg, Hamminkeln (Germany).
  • Las paces de Urtubia 1513 Curated by Guillermo Zuaznabar at Museo Jorge Oteiza Alzuza (Spain).
  • Reproductibilidad. Curated by Nekane Aranburu. Museo Es Baluard. Mallorca. Spain.
  • Skins. Solo show at Moises Perez de Albeniz Gallery. Madrid.
  • Concrete. Curated by Geraldine Barlow. Tophane-i Amite Culture and Arts Center. Istambul.
  • Listen to the stones, think like a mountain. Curated by Eveline Bracke. Galerie Tatjana Pieters. Gent.
  • Invincible forest. Curated by Annie Le Brun. Museum of Contemporary Art. Zagreb.
  • Percussive Hunter. Group show curated by Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk. Akbank Sanat. Istanbul.
  • The third place. Solo show at MUN Museum. Pamplona.
2014
  • Concrete. Curated by Geraldine Barlow. MUMA Museum, Melbourne.
  • Amalgam. Solo show curated by Julia Geerlings. Galerie Van Gelder. Amsterdam.
  • The Surface. Solo show at. Juan Silió Galerie Santander (Spain).
  • UNCUT. Solo Show at. Cerezales Foundation, Cerezales (Spain).
  • Lost in Paradise. Curated by Gerardo Mosquera. MART Trento.
  • Insights into the Wemhöner Collection. OSRAM Höfe, Berlin.
  • Artists’ Film at Carroll/Fletcher Gallery, London.
2013
  • High Tides. Galerie Sherin Najjar. Berlin.
  • Coleccion VIII CA2M. Madrid.
  • L’Comme Lumiére. Gaitè Lirique. Paris.
2012
  • Urdaibaiarte. Curated by Alberto Sanchez Balmisa. Urdaubai (Basque Country).
  • Delimitations. Curated by Ghila Limon. Herzliya Museum. Israel.
  • Lost sites. Curated by Teresa Blanch. Centro Huarte. Spain.
  • Goazen txinara. Egg Gallery Beijing.
  • Urban projections. Yokohama Art Center Japan.
2011
  • No one is an island. Curated by Omar Lopez Chaoud. Governors Island LMCC. New York.
  • Esa cosa verde de ahí afuera. Curated by Jose Castañal. Travesía Cuatro Gallery . Madrid.
  • Entre temps. Curated by Francois Lostau. Le Carre Bayone.
  • Rencontres internationales. Centre Pompidou. Paris.
  • VOLTA NY. New York.
2010
  • Welcome home. Moisés Pérez de Albéniz Gallery. Pamplona.
  • OFF Mostoles CA2M. Mostoles. Spain.
  • 25 Years Injuve Art Prize curated by Maria Corral Tabacalera. Madrid.
  • Queens move, White Box satellite. Long Island City. NY.
  • Spain on the edge. Instituto Cervantes Chicago.
2009
  • Atopía. Centro de Cultura Contemporánea CCCB. Barcelona.
  • Rencontres Internationales. Jeu de Paume- Paris.
  • Risk. MA Studio. Beijing.
  • La colección 2. TEA Tenerife.
  • ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’ Thornton Room Chelsea New York.
  • Generaciones 2009. Caja Madrid. Itinerant.
2008
  • Itinerarios 07-08. Beca Artes plásticas. Marcelino Botín Foundation.
  • Exposures. Dina Mitrani Gallery. Miami.
  • Ajenos. Palazzo Sambuca. Palermo.Curated by Raffalella Guidobono.
  • Extraños en el paraiso. Coleccion ARTIUM. Instituto Cervantes of Beijing and Tokyo.
2007
  • Balance. Galeria Unosunove. Roma. Curated by Raffael Gavarro.
  • Anamnesis. Bienal de Valencia-Sao Paolo.
2006
  • Injuve 2006. Circulo de Bellas Artes. Madrid.
  • DFOTO 06. Galería Fernando Silió.
  • Generación 2006. Caja Madrid (itinerant).
  • Interzonas 2006. Palacio de Sástago. Zaragoza.
  • Ertibil, Young Basque Artists (itinerant).
2005
  • 10th Pamplona Art Biennale. City of Pamplona.
  • Casaborne. Antequera.
2004
  • Explosio 2004. Itinerant: Kottbus. Berlin.

PRIZES /GRANTS

2015/16
  • The Shifting Foundation award San Francisco (USA)
2013/14
  • Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten. Amsterdam (NL)
2011
  • Revelation PhotoEspaña Prize.
  • Awarded CAM Arts Grant.
  • ISCP Artist in residence NY.
2009
  • Honor Mention Generaciones 2009.
  • Matadero Madrid Mobility prize.
2007/08
  • Marcelino Botín Foundation Visual Arts Grant.
  • First Prize Purificación García.
  • MA Studio Resident Grant. Beijing.
2006
  • Bilbao Arte Foundation Resident Grant.
2005
  • Fine Arts Award Colegio de España. Paris.
  • Government of Navarre Art Grant.
2004
  • Photography Scholarship Guggenheim Bilbao.
  • First Prize Young Navarrese artists.
2003
  • Erasmus Scholarship Universität der Kunst. Berlin.

WORK HELD IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

  • Artium Contemporary Art Museum. Vitoria. Spain.
  • Patio Herreriano Museum. Valladolid. Spain.
  • CA2M Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo. Comunidad de Madrid.
  • Coca Cola Art foundation.
  • Obra social Caja Madrid.
  • Marcelino Botin Foundation.
  • Villar Mir Collection.
  • El corte Inglés Collection.
  • IVAM Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno.
  • Bilbao Arte Foundation.
  • Unicaja Collection.
  • Museum of Navarre.
  • Pamplona City Council.
  • Public University of Navarre.
  • Basque Country University.
  • Gobierno de Cantabria.

BIBLIOGRAPHY (selection)