Angela de la Cruz

Inspired in equal parts by conceptual, painterly, and sculptural concerns, Angela de la Cruz utilises the canvas to subvert conventions of painting, and extend the potential of narrative form. Aligning her work within the greater discourse of the history of art, de la Cruz defies the notion of the canvas as a unique, singular object by deconstructing and reconstructing paintings into recyclable "Commodity Paintings". Reinforced with titles such as Ashamed, Off Guard, or Stuck, her works are often physically and psychologically damaged. Her signature form of action painting — resulting in mangled and fractured stretchers, and crumpled, torn, or scorched canvases — serves to visualise the dramas their titles invoke and unleash them into three-dimensional space. These works, which have recently incorporated items of domestic furniture, anthropomorphise human emotions and exude a strange calm in the wake of the violence enacted upon them.

Born in 1965 in A Coruña, Spain, Angela de la Cruz studied philosophy at the University of Santiago de Compostela before moving to London where she earned a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College and an MA in Sculpture and Critical Theory from The Slade School of Art. Solo exhibitions include  ‘Homeless’, Azkuna Zentroa, Bilbao, Spain (2018); PEER, London, UK (2016); Fundación Luis Seoane, A Coruña, Spain (2015); Camden Arts Centre, London, UK (2010); Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville, Spain (2005); Museo de Arte Contemporanea de Vigo and Annex Space MARCO, Spain (2004). She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2010 and in 2017 was awarded the Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Spain. De la Cruz lives and works in London.