Susana Solana was born in Barcelona and studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts there, where she later lectured.
She belongs to the generation of artists who worked in what is known as the ‘new Spanish sculpture’. In the 1980s they approached sculpture not exclusively from its objectual nature but in terms of its relations with the space in which it was found; those explorations were conducted with architects such as Rafael Moneo and Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra. Susana Solano has enriched her three-dimensional work by exploring other disciplines such as video, photography and installation. She has used a whole range of materials, from those typical of the avant-garde tradition, such as iron, to more instrumental choices including plaster, iron and metal mesh as she explores their different constructive possibilities.
From the 1980s on, Susana Solano’s work became a benchmark in three-dimensional work in Spain for her use of materials, sizes and weights that had previously been practically the exclusive realm of male sculptors. Even though she creates contrasts between the artificial, the mechanical and the industrial as regards the resulting forms, her objects also have a strong symbolic character through which she gives us a glimpse of her personal concerns, her lived experiences and the importance of her own body.
Susana Solano has received important accolades, including the Special Prize from the Utsukushi-Ga-Hara Open Air Museum in Tokyo (1985), the National Award for Plastic Arts from the Spanish Ministry of Culture (1988), the Tomás Francisco Prieto Award from the Spanish Mint (2011) and the GAC Prize (2015). Her work has been exhibited at the Joan Miró Foundation (Barcelona, 1980); the Städisches Museum Abteiberg Mönchengladbach (Germany, 1989); the Reina Sofía (Madrid, 1992); Whitechapel Art Gallery (London, 1993); the Fundaçao de Serralves (Porto, Portugal, 1997); the Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum (1999); the Dar-al Horra Palace Exhibition Centre (Granada, 2001); the Museum of Modern Art (New York, 2006); the Helga de Alvear Gallery (Madrid, 2007); the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin, 2011) and the Suñol Foundation (Barcelona, 2014). She has taken part in major international events such as Documenta 8 and 9 (Kassel, Germany, 1987 and 1992); the São Paulo International Biennial (1987); the Skulptur Projekte (Münster, Germany, 1987); the Carnegie International (Pittsburgh, United States, 1988); and the Venice Biennale (1988 and 1993).
Susana Solana was born in Barcelona and studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts there, where she later lectured.
She belongs to the generation of artists who worked in what is known as the ‘new Spanish sculpture’. In the 1980s they approached sculpture not exclusively from its objectual nature but in terms of its relations with the space in which it was found; those explorations were conducted with architects such as Rafael Moneo and Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra. Susana Solano has enriched her three-dimensional work by exploring other disciplines such as video, photography and installation. She has used a whole range of materials, from those typical of the avant-garde tradition, such as iron, to more instrumental choices including plaster, iron and metal mesh as she explores their different constructive possibilities.
From the 1980s on, Susana Solano’s work became a benchmark in three-dimensional work in Spain for her use of materials, sizes and weights that had previously been practically the exclusive realm of male sculptors. Even though she creates contrasts between the artificial, the mechanical and the industrial as regards the resulting forms, her objects also have a strong symbolic character through which she gives us a glimpse of her personal concerns, her lived experiences and the importance of her own body.
Susana Solano has received important accolades, including the Special Prize from the Utsukushi-Ga-Hara Open Air Museum in Tokyo (1985), the National Award for Plastic Arts from the Spanish Ministry of Culture (1988), the Tomás Francisco Prieto Award from the Spanish Mint (2011) and the GAC Prize (2015). Her work has been exhibited at the Joan Miró Foundation (Barcelona, 1980); the Städisches Museum Abteiberg Mönchengladbach (Germany, 1989); the Reina Sofía (Madrid, 1992); Whitechapel Art Gallery (London, 1993); the Fundaçao de Serralves (Porto, Portugal, 1997); the Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum (1999); the Dar-al Horra Palace Exhibition Centre (Granada, 2001); the Museum of Modern Art (New York, 2006); the Helga de Alvear Gallery (Madrid, 2007); the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin, 2011) and the Suñol Foundation (Barcelona, 2014). She has taken part in major international events such as Documenta 8 and 9 (Kassel, Germany, 1987 and 1992); the São Paulo International Biennial (1987); the Skulptur Projekte (Münster, Germany, 1987); the Carnegie International (Pittsburgh, United States, 1988); and the Venice Biennale (1988 and 1993).