Juan Luis Moraza has a BFA and a PhD (1994) from the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao. Together with Marisa Fernández he set up the CVA collective (1979-1985), from which, during an intense period of sculptural work, he interrogated the limits of art, reinterpreting the signs —such as frames or pedestals— that define the artwork. In addition to his sculptural work, Moraza also lectures at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Vigo. He previously taught at the University of the Basque Country, the School of Fine Arts in Cuenca, the École d'Art de Marseille, the University of Tirana and the Institute of Aesthetics and Art Theory in Madrid.
Moraza's conceptual discourse centres on the notion of the representational crisis in the art object and in social, political and individual ideologies. At his exhibition 'República' ['Republic'], held at the Museo Reina Sofía (2014), Moraza said that 'a work of art does not mean anything. Rather, it makes one say, think, feel'. It is a phrase that sums up much of the artist's work, which contains clear allusions to Meret Oppenheim, Joseph Beuys and Marcel Broodthaers. Moraza takes apparently commonplace objects and alters or reproduces them in incongruous materials. In this way, he re-presents them to the viewer and re-arranges them in the specific setting of the museum, with all its symbolic charge, complexity and inescapable audience involvement. The result of this communion is what Moraza calls 'implexities'. In this way, he seeks to provoke both the eye and the mind, using simple but effective (and even dramatic) devices.
Juan Luis Moraza represented Spain at Expo'92 in Seville, the São Paulo Biennial (1994) and the Venice Biennale (2001). He has been awarded grants from Banesto (1990) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1991) and in 2004 he won the Gure Artea Prize (2004). His solo exhibitions include 'Implejidades' ['Implexities'], at the Montehermoso Cultural Centre (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2009); 'Anesteticas. Algologos' ['Anaesthetics. Algologues'], at the Andalusia Contemporary Art Centre (Seville, 1998), and 'República' ['Republic'], at the Museo Reina Sofía. Moraza is also an essayist and coordinator at the magazine Acción Paralela.
Juan Luis Moraza has a BFA and a PhD (1994) from the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao. Together with Marisa Fernández he set up the CVA collective (1979-1985), from which, during an intense period of sculptural work, he interrogated the limits of art, reinterpreting the signs —such as frames or pedestals— that define the artwork. In addition to his sculptural work, Moraza also lectures at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Vigo. He previously taught at the University of the Basque Country, the School of Fine Arts in Cuenca, the École d'Art de Marseille, the University of Tirana and the Institute of Aesthetics and Art Theory in Madrid.
Moraza's conceptual discourse centres on the notion of the representational crisis in the art object and in social, political and individual ideologies. At his exhibition 'República' ['Republic'], held at the Museo Reina Sofía (2014), Moraza said that 'a work of art does not mean anything. Rather, it makes one say, think, feel'. It is a phrase that sums up much of the artist's work, which contains clear allusions to Meret Oppenheim, Joseph Beuys and Marcel Broodthaers. Moraza takes apparently commonplace objects and alters or reproduces them in incongruous materials. In this way, he re-presents them to the viewer and re-arranges them in the specific setting of the museum, with all its symbolic charge, complexity and inescapable audience involvement. The result of this communion is what Moraza calls 'implexities'. In this way, he seeks to provoke both the eye and the mind, using simple but effective (and even dramatic) devices.
Juan Luis Moraza represented Spain at Expo'92 in Seville, the São Paulo Biennial (1994) and the Venice Biennale (2001). He has been awarded grants from Banesto (1990) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1991) and in 2004 he won the Gure Artea Prize (2004). His solo exhibitions include 'Implejidades' ['Implexities'], at the Montehermoso Cultural Centre (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2009); 'Anesteticas. Algologos' ['Anaesthetics. Algologues'], at the Andalusia Contemporary Art Centre (Seville, 1998), and 'República' ['Republic'], at the Museo Reina Sofía. Moraza is also an essayist and coordinator at the magazine Acción Paralela.