José Quintanar (Madrid, Spain) lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is an artist with a background in comics and architecture. Using the book as the principal format for his work, José Quintanar explores the possibilities of drawing as a game and the ways in which it serves as a primary method to establish processes based on rudimentary rules. He founded a publishing project RUJA PRESS, recently called THIS WAS A PROJECT BUT WE HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT WAS . A place where to explore and experiment with the format of the book. Ph.D. researcher at UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA MADRID. His thesis is called "The book as public space."
José has released several full-length comics and artists´ books including Conociendo a Jari, Grundfunken, Fartlek, and Culto Charles . His drawings have been published in The New York Times, Hermés, Nieves, Fantagraphics, Vice, Esquire, kuš! Komikss, Fulgencio Pimentel, Editions Misma, Fosfatina and many more. His work has been exhibited in galleries in New York, Paris, London, Rotterdam, Madrid, Porto, and Berlín.
Online Articles/Interviews: THE STEIDZ Magazine. Issue N8. 2022-2023
Selected Exhibitions: Dutch Landscape. Solo Exhibition. Florence Loewy Gallery. Paris, France. 18.11.23/13.01.24 5.738/2.316. Solo Exhibition. LUCA Fine Art School, Ghent. November 2023 From 1 to 14. Solo Exhibition. 019 Gallery. Ghent. Belgium. July-October 2022 Dutch Landscape 8. Solo Show. Terranova. Comte Borrell 99. Barcelona. October 2021. Un Paysage Hollandais. Solo Show. My Monkey Gallery. Nancy. April 2021 A Dutch Landscape #11. Solo Show. Is A Galery. Shanghai. March-April 2021 Un Paisaje Holandés. Solo Show. Galería Araña. Madrid. Oct-November 2020 A Dutch Landscape of 26 days. Solo Show. Shower Project Space. Rotterdam. May 2020 Cotoplacism. Collective exhibition. Cerquone Gallery. Curated by Grip Face. Madrid. July 2020 Draw the Line. Collective exhibition. Kunstpodium T. Tilburg. The Netherlands. Playing with tradition. Group-show. Gur at Gallery 3F, Tokyo. Japan. Apr 2019 Plaatjes & Praatjes. Group-show. Kunstruimte Willem Twee. Den Bosch. The Netherlands. Mar 2019 The Reading Room. Group-show. Bard Graduate Center Gallery. New York, USA. Feb 2018 Realm II. Group-show. Gordon Snelgrove Gallery. Saskatoon. Canada. Jan 2018 La Pachanga. Group-show. Aires de Jeux. Jungle festival. Centre Culturel Les Chiroux. Liege. Belgium. Apr 2018 MAD Libro SHOW1. Group-show. MAD IS MAD Gallery, Madrid. Oct 2017 CLUBHOUSE 6. Group-show. ACUD Gallery Berlin. Aug 2017 INK 2#. Group-show. Fotokino Gallery. Marseille. France. Jul 2017 JOSE JA JA JA. Solo Show. Rotopol Gallery. Kassel. Germany. Jun 2017 MAZIPOS. Group-show. Itinerant exhibition curated by Kush! Komiks. Riga, Latvia. 2017 JUST MAD ART FAIR MADRID. Group-show. Mincho Mag. COAM. Madrid. 2016, 2017 GRUNDFUNKEN. Solo Show. Het Wilde Wetten Gallery. Rotterdam. The Netherlands. Nov 2016 CHEAP IS CHEAP. Group-show. Kevit Galleri. Copenhaguen. Denmark. Jul 2016 FUN FUN FUN. Fanzines Festival 2015. Group-show. Médiathèque Marguerite Duras. Paris. France. Oct 2015 JUST MAD ART FAIR MADRID. Group-show. Studio 119, Roberto Vidal. COAM, Madrid. 2015 Bomba Gitana. Solo-show. Installation at MATADERO. Madrid. Aug 2015 La Ciudad en Viñetas. Solo-show. CENTRO CENTRO. Madrid. Oct 2014 SILENT MANIFEST. Solo show. Urban Installation at Cuenca. Zarajos Deluxe. Sep 2014 Ningún día sin una línea. Group-show. Galería MAD IS MAD. Madrid. Sep. 2014 Culto Charles. Solo-show. DAMA AFLITA Gallery. Porto. Portugal. Jun 2014
Education: B.A. + M.A. Architecture. School of Architecture of Madrid. ETSAM. UPM. 2002-2010 P.h.D Student. School of Architecture of Madrid. ETSAM. UPM. Currently.
Selected publications: Torrent. Lagoon. May 2021 Kush Komiks! #38. Imperfect Shapes. April 2020 Realms II. Jon Vaughn. Jan 2018 NOW #6. Fantagraphics. 2019 NOW #5. Fantagraphics. 2018 NOW #3. Fantagraphics. 2018 Smoke Signal #28. Desert Island Brooklyn. 2018 RAFI. Lyriads. VICE USA. 2017 Clubhouse 6. Colorama & Aisha Franz. Aug 2017 Kush Komiks! #26. Dadá. Oct 2016 Kush Komiks! #19. Mathematics. Dec 2014
Books: Dutch Landscape. Rollo Press. 2024 Dutch Landscape 17. Florence Loewy Gallery. 2023 From 1 to 16. Anoche Press. 2023 One hundred and some boats. Terry Bleu. 2022 It’s a ship. Nieves. 2021 Good Morning. Terry Bleu. 2021 Un Paysage Hollandais. My Monkey editions. 2021 A Dutch Landscape of 26 pages. Ruja Press. 2021 Palmeras Salvajes. Ruja Press. 2020 A Dutch landscape III. Ruja Press. 2020 A Dutch Landscape of 24 pages. Ruja Press. 2020 The Smoke Signal Library. Ruja Press. 2019 “Una Silla Plegada”. Ruja Press. 2019 “Un paisaje Holandés”. Ruja Press. 2019 “A book with sixteen drawings of sixteen lines”. Nieves. 2019 “A book of twenty pages with twenty drawings of twenty lines”. Ruja Press. 2019 “Grundfunken”. Fosfatina. 2018 “Gran Premio”. Ruja Press. 2018 “33. Ten shoots, five assists, and one number.” Ruja Press. 2018 “Conociendo a Jari”. Fulgencio Pimentel. 2017 “The shortest distance between two ideas” Ruja press. 2017 “Grundfunken I”. Ruja Press. 2017 “Grundfunken II ”. Ruja Press. 2017 “The Drawing could never have happened”. Ruja Press. 2017 “1997. Hot Summer”. Fosfatina. 2017 “Fartlek”. Fulgencio Pimentel. 2016 “Diamond Gym”. Ruja Press. 2016 “Landscapes”. Ruja Press. 2015 “Magic Box”. Ruja Press. 2016 “Pum!”. Ruja Press. 2016 “Culto Charles”. Fulgencio Pimentel. 2015 “God Box”. Ruja Press. 2015 “Small Stories”. Ruja Press. 2015
Selected Lectures/Screenings: "Dutch LAndscape". FANFARE. Amsterdam. March 2024 “Dutch Landscape”. LUCA Fine Art School Ghent, Belgium. November 2023. “Devenir Paisaje”. Museo TEA de Tenerife. November 2023 “Making Books”. ISIA Urbino. Italy. May 2023 “Dutch Landscapes”. Rietveld Academy. Amsterdam. September 2022. “Making Zines”. Zine Camp. Rotterdam. November 2021. “A Dutch Landscape”. École nationale supérieure d'art et design de Nancy. March 2021. Making Books. Is a Gallery. Shanghai. March 2021 “A book is a book is a book. Recreo. Valencia Art Book Fair. October 2020 “Making Things”. IED Madrid. May 2020 “Sampling ideas around books as public space”. Faculty of Architecture KU LEUVEN. Ghent. Belgium. Oct 2019 “Making books just for fun”. MICA. Baltimore. The United States. Sep 2019 “Telling stories from pieces of memory”. Art Academy of Latvia. Riga. Latvia. Apr 2019 “Telling stories from pieces of memory”. Fine Art School LUCA. Gent. Belgium Mar 2019 “Sampling Ideas”. Architecture School of Madrid. ETSAM. Spain. Feb 2019. “RUJA PRESS”. Bananafish books. Shanghai. China. Feb 2018. “Making Things”. Ilustres 2016. La Casa Encendida, Madrid. Spain. Sep 2016. “Jose Ja Ja Ja”. Festival NAM!. Palencia. Spain. Nov 2014
Selected Workshops: "Dutch LAndscape". FANFARE. Amsterdam. March 2024 “Devenir Paisaje”. Museo TEA de Tenerife, Spain. Nov 2023. “Construire il Paesaggio”. ISIA Urbino. Italy. May 2023 Making Zines. Grafixx 2022. Antwerp. Belgium. November 2022. “Making Things”. IED Barcelona. June 2020 “Amiga Infinita”. FLIC Festival. CA2M. Madrid. Nov 2019 “Making Things”. Art Academy of Latvia. Riga. April 2019 “And Johnny got his gun”. Fine Art School LUCA, Gent. Mar 2019 “No hay ideas, sino en los objetos”. IED Madrid. Feb. 2019 “Grundfunken”. No Tengo Mamá. Vigo. Sep 2018 GRAF Madrid 2017. Matadero de Madrid. Nov 2017 “Safari City”. Achitecture School of Universidad Europea, Madrid. May 2016 “Your building is a Fucking Killer”. Architectural Association, London. Oct 2012 “Wacky Trycicle Race”. Architectural Association, London. Nov 2011 “How to be a Super Hero”.
Collaborations projects: SCARFS & TOWELS for HERMÉS BOOK COVERS for Fulgencio Pimentel. ALBUM COVERS for the Music Producers Balmat ILUSTRES 2016. Curator. La Casa Encendida & IED Madrid. Madrid. 2016 AMID.CERO9. Cristina Díaz Moreno-Efrén García Grinda. Architecture office. From 2006-2016
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