Francesc Torres is one of Spain's most internationally renowned artists. In his projects he explores the confluence of memory, history and politics. From his pioneering conceptual installations in the 1970s, his nomadic lifestyle (always moving from city to city and context to context) and the changing roles that he takes on as an artist have been fundamental in understanding his output.
Francesc Torres worked for long periods in Paris and the USA, in the latter case in Chicago and New York, where he set himself up after being awarded the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts (1980-1981) and the Ministry of Culture Artistic Grant (1981-1982). Years later he also lived in Berlin under a DAAD Berliner Kunstlerprogramm grant (1986-1987). He currently divides his time and work between Barcelona and New York.
Writing, curating exhibitions, photography, installations and film are just some of the areas in which he works in each new project. He produces expositional essays in which words and music are blended, critically challenging the collective consciousness. The links between ideology and politics, between control, violence, urban planning and technology and the revision of historical remembrance are just some of the issues he has tackled in recent projects. His career, spanning almost 50 years, can be referred to as a valuable 'mnemonic device'. He himself sees it in these terms, referring to the capacity for criticism and the power that reside in the production of art.
Solo exhibitions of his work include shows at the International Center of Photography (New York, 2011), the Elba Benítez Gallery (Madrid, 2010), the Museu d'Art Contemporani in Barcelona (2008), the MIT List Visual Arts Center (Massachusetts, USA, 1998), the Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, 1991) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 1981). In 2008 he received the National Award for Visual Art from the National Council for Culture and the Arts in Catalonia.
Francesc Torres is one of Spain's most internationally renowned artists. In his projects he explores the confluence of memory, history and politics. From his pioneering conceptual installations in the 1970s, his nomadic lifestyle (always moving from city to city and context to context) and the changing roles that he takes on as an artist have been fundamental in understanding his output.
Francesc Torres worked for long periods in Paris and the USA, in the latter case in Chicago and New York, where he set himself up after being awarded the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts (1980-1981) and the Ministry of Culture Artistic Grant (1981-1982). Years later he also lived in Berlin under a DAAD Berliner Kunstlerprogramm grant (1986-1987). He currently divides his time and work between Barcelona and New York.
Writing, curating exhibitions, photography, installations and film are just some of the areas in which he works in each new project. He produces expositional essays in which words and music are blended, critically challenging the collective consciousness. The links between ideology and politics, between control, violence, urban planning and technology and the revision of historical remembrance are just some of the issues he has tackled in recent projects. His career, spanning almost 50 years, can be referred to as a valuable 'mnemonic device'. He himself sees it in these terms, referring to the capacity for criticism and the power that reside in the production of art.
Solo exhibitions of his work include shows at the International Center of Photography (New York, 2011), the Elba Benítez Gallery (Madrid, 2010), the Museu d'Art Contemporani in Barcelona (2008), the MIT List Visual Arts Center (Massachusetts, USA, 1998), the Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, 1991) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 1981). In 2008 he received the National Award for Visual Art from the National Council for Culture and the Arts in Catalonia.