Eva Navarro
"I am a Spanish painter and live and work in Madrid. I studied Fine Arts at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. Where I really learned to paint was at an Art Academy called Artaquio. There I spent many afternoons. Painting quickly became a passion in my life.
My anonymous characters are only a means to express what really matters to me, which is the intangible, the emotions, the time that vanishes, our existential doubts and worries of everyday life. My models are real people whose paths cross mine. When I travel – travelling is another great passion of mine – I spend a lot of time taking thousands of photos of people from all over the world, and incorporate them into my particular world."
Biography
Eva Nararro’s latest paintings celebrate summer, with figures bathed in sunlight relaxing in invisible parks or calmly strolling down unseen avenues. They represent characters she has found enjoying their time throughout Europe, “sunbathers on the banks of the Rhine in Basel, young ladies meeting for an appetizer before lunchtime in Córdoba, a young boy wearing his Sunday clothes playing with a ball, cyclists heading to the beaches of Malaga.” Removed from their original urban environments and placed against her signature abstract backgrounds, they seem to inhabit a mental landscape—the artist’s, the viewer’s, or their own.
In her recent work, Navarro has increasingly embraced a spontaneous, organic process when it comes to creating her painterly backgrounds. As she puts it, they have become “co-protagonists” in the paintings—active regions of color and form that recall the work of impressionists and abstract expressionists, and seem to reflect the moods of her mysterious, anonymous figures. The subjects themselves derive from her extensive travels, on which she takes thousands of photographs of passers-by to integrate into her world. With their faces averted, they become vehicles for our reflection, even as they seem immersed in their own thoughts. As Navarro says, “My anonymous characters are only a means to express what really matters to me, which is the intangible, the emotions, the time that vanishes, our existential doubts and worries of everyday life.”
A Spanish painter who lives and works in Madrid, Navarro studied fine art at Madrid’s Universidad Complutense and Artaquio Art Academy. In the course of her twenty-year career, she has exhibited across Spain as well as in Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Canada, and the U.S. Most recently she was a resident artist at the Tao Hua Tan Residency in China, and in 2016 took first place in Denmark’s VKR75 International Painting Competition.
Education
Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2021 The Obsession of Art Gallery, Bergen, The Netherlands
2021 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
2020 The Obsession of Art Gallery, Bergen, The Netherlands
2019 Here Comes the Sun, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena
2018 Summer in the City, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2017 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
2016 Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2015 Alicia Winters Gallery, Arnhem, The Netherlands
2014 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
2013 Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
Envie d’Art Gallery, Paris, France
Alicia Winters Gallery, Arnhem, The Netherlands
2012 El Quatre Gallery, Granollers, Spain
2011 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
Galería Espacio Nolde, Navacerrada, Spain
2009 Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2008 Envie d’Art Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Envie d’Art Gallery (Paris XVI), Paris, France
Envie d’Art Gallery (Paris VII), Paris, France
Envie d’Art Gallery, London, UK
Envie d’Art Gallery (Paris VIII), Paris, France
2007 MPG Contemporary Gallery, Boston, USA
BAT Alberto Cornejo Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2006 V!P’s International Art Galleries, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
MPG Contemporary Gallery, Boston, USA
Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2005 MPG Contemporary Gallery, Boston, USA
Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2004 Sala D’Art Atelier, Barcelona, Spain
2003 V!P’s International Art Galleries, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2002 Instituto Cervantes, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Sala D’Art Atelier, Barcelona, Spain
Gema Lazcano Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2001 Molgrabia Gallery, Madrid, Spain
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Artmundi Gallery, Paris, France
2020 Naarden Art Fair, The Obsession of Art Gallery, The Netherlands
2019 Art Sylt, Arte-AG Gallery, Germany
2018 Art Sylt, Arte-AG Gallery, Germany
2018 35th Anniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2018 Art Market Hamptons, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, NY, NY
2017 ArtMadrid Art Fair, with Arte Periférica Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2016 VKR75 International Painting Competition, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015 Resident Artists. Sam and Adele Golden Gallery
Realisme Art Fair, Alicia Winters Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015 Resident Artist. Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, New Berlin, NY, USA
“Parallel Universes” BAT Alberto Cornexjo Gallery, Madrid
Fundación Estudio, Madrid, Spain
Tasting Art, Pop-Up Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
FLECHA 2015 Art Fair, Madrid, Spain
Realisme Art Fair, Alicia Winters Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014 El Quatre Art Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
“Petit Format” Rusiñol Art Gallery, Sant Cugat, Spain
Summer Show, L’Arcada Art Gallery, Blanes, Spain
Art Laren, Alicia Winters Gallery, Laren, Netherlands
2013 AAF New York, Galería Envie d’Art, New York, USA
Art Copenhagen, Galería El Quatre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Art Laren, Alicia Winters Gallery, Laren, Netherlands
2012 Petit Format, Galería Envie d’Art, Paris, France
Arti11, Alicia Winters Gallery, Den Haag, Netherlands
L’illa d’art. Galería Safia, Barcelona, Spain
Press
PRESS
Selected Artworks
Education
Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2021 The Obsession of Art Gallery, Bergen, The Netherlands
2021 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
2020 The Obsession of Art Gallery, Bergen, The Netherlands
2019 Here Comes the Sun, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena
2018 Summer in the City, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2017 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
2016 Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2015 Alicia Winters Gallery, Arnhem, The Netherlands
2014 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
2013 Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
Envie d’Art Gallery, Paris, France
Alicia Winters Gallery, Arnhem, The Netherlands
2012 El Quatre Gallery, Granollers, Spain
2011 Soprafina Gallery, Boston, USA
Galería Espacio Nolde, Navacerrada, Spain
2009 Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2008 Envie d’Art Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Envie d’Art Gallery (Paris XVI), Paris, France
Envie d’Art Gallery (Paris VII), Paris, France
Envie d’Art Gallery, London, UK
Envie d’Art Gallery (Paris VIII), Paris, France
2007 MPG Contemporary Gallery, Boston, USA
BAT Alberto Cornejo Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2006 V!P’s International Art Galleries, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
MPG Contemporary Gallery, Boston, USA
Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2005 MPG Contemporary Gallery, Boston, USA
Arte Periférica Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2004 Sala D’Art Atelier, Barcelona, Spain
2003 V!P’s International Art Galleries, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2002 Instituto Cervantes, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Sala D’Art Atelier, Barcelona, Spain
Gema Lazcano Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2001 Molgrabia Gallery, Madrid, Spain
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Artmundi Gallery, Paris, France
2020 Naarden Art Fair, The Obsession of Art Gallery, The Netherlands
2019 Art Sylt, Arte-AG Gallery, Germany
2018 Art Sylt, Arte-AG Gallery, Germany
2018 35th Anniversary Show, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2018 Art Market Hamptons, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, NY, NY
2017 ArtMadrid Art Fair, with Arte Periférica Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2016 VKR75 International Painting Competition, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015 Resident Artists. Sam and Adele Golden Gallery
Realisme Art Fair, Alicia Winters Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015 Resident Artist. Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, New Berlin, NY, USA
“Parallel Universes” BAT Alberto Cornexjo Gallery, Madrid
Fundación Estudio, Madrid, Spain
Tasting Art, Pop-Up Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
FLECHA 2015 Art Fair, Madrid, Spain
Realisme Art Fair, Alicia Winters Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014 El Quatre Art Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
“Petit Format” Rusiñol Art Gallery, Sant Cugat, Spain
Summer Show, L’Arcada Art Gallery, Blanes, Spain
Art Laren, Alicia Winters Gallery, Laren, Netherlands
2013 AAF New York, Galería Envie d’Art, New York, USA
Art Copenhagen, Galería El Quatre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Art Laren, Alicia Winters Gallery, Laren, Netherlands
2012 Petit Format, Galería Envie d’Art, Paris, France
Arti11, Alicia Winters Gallery, Den Haag, Netherlands
L’illa d’art. Galería Safia, Barcelona, Spain
Eva Nararro’s latest paintings celebrate summer, with figures bathed in sunlight relaxing in invisible parks or calmly strolling down unseen avenues. They represent characters she has found enjoying their time throughout Europe, “sunbathers on the banks of the Rhine in Basel, young ladies meeting for an appetizer before lunchtime in Córdoba, a young boy wearing his Sunday clothes playing with a ball, cyclists heading to the beaches of Malaga.” Removed from their original urban environments and placed against her signature abstract backgrounds, they seem to inhabit a mental landscape—the artist’s, the viewer’s, or their own.
In her recent work, Navarro has increasingly embraced a spontaneous, organic process when it comes to creating her painterly backgrounds. As she puts it, they have become “co-protagonists” in the paintings—active regions of color and form that recall the work of impressionists and abstract expressionists, and seem to reflect the moods of her mysterious, anonymous figures. The subjects themselves derive from her extensive travels, on which she takes thousands of photographs of passers-by to integrate into her world. With their faces averted, they become vehicles for our reflection, even as they seem immersed in their own thoughts. As Navarro says, “My anonymous characters are only a means to express what really matters to me, which is the intangible, the emotions, the time that vanishes, our existential doubts and worries of everyday life.”
A Spanish painter who lives and works in Madrid, Navarro studied fine art at Madrid’s Universidad Complutense and Artaquio Art Academy. In the course of her twenty-year career, she has exhibited across Spain as well as in Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Canada, and the U.S. Most recently she was a resident artist at the Tao Hua Tan Residency in China, and in 2016 took first place in Denmark’s VKR75 International Painting Competition.
Biography
Press
"I am a Spanish painter and live and work in Madrid. I studied Fine Arts at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. Where I really learned to paint was at an Art Academy called Artaquio. There I spent many afternoons. Painting quickly became a passion in my life.
My anonymous characters are only a means to express what really matters to me, which is the intangible, the emotions, the time that vanishes, our existential doubts and worries of everyday life. My models are real people whose paths cross mine. When I travel – travelling is another great passion of mine – I spend a lot of time taking thousands of photos of people from all over the world, and incorporate them into my particular world."
Eva Navarro
My backgrounds have changed from empty colorful backgrounds to much richer and textured surfaces: they have become co-protagonists of the canvas, along with the human figures. My intent is to continue exploring this new path. Breaking with the style for which I am known is scary and challenging at times, but I am excited to move forward and continue growing as a painter.
"I am a Spanish painter and live and work in Madrid. I studied Fine Arts at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. Where I really learned to paint was at an Art Academy called Artaquio. There I spent many afternoons. Painting quickly became a passion in my life.
My anonymous characters are only a means to express what really matters to me, which is the intangible, the emotions, the time that vanishes, our existential doubts and worries of everyday life. My models are real people whose paths cross mine. When I travel – travelling is another great passion of mine – I spend a lot of time taking thousands of photos of people from all over the world, and incorporate them into my particular world."