José María Sicilia Spain, b. 1954

José María Sicilia (b. 1954, Madrid; lives and works between Sóller and Paris) is one of Spain’s most prominent contemporary painters, renowned for his lyrical abstractions that explore the interplay of light, memory, and materiality. Working with wax, pigment, and delicate surfaces, his practice creates a sensorial dialogue between presence and absence, often evoking landscapes of memory and silence.

After relocating to Paris in 1980, Sicilia quickly gained international recognition. He represented Spain at the 1986 Venice Biennale and has since exhibited widely across Europe, the United States, and Asia, with major institutional presentations such as L'horabaixa at Museo Reina Sofía (1997) and retrospectives in Madrid, Paris, and Fukushima. He has received some of Spain’s highest cultural honors, including the National Prize for Plastic Arts (1989), the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts (2015), and the National Graphic Art Award (2016). His works form part of leading museum collections worldwide, including MoMA, Guggenheim, and Reina Sofía.

Selected Exhibitions

2021 – La locura de ver y Lo Abierto, Baró Galeria, Mallorca

2018 – Kranenburgh Museum, Bergen

2017 – Museo Casa de la Moneda, Madrid

2016 – Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid

2015 – Musée Delacroix, Paris

2013 – Matadero, Madrid

2013 – Fukushima Art Museum, Fukushima

2012 – Santa Caridad, Sevilla

2010 – Amos Anderson Museum, Helsinki

1997 – L'horabaixa, Palacio de Velázquez, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid

1986 – Spanish Pavilion, Venice Biennale

Collections

– Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

– Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

– Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

– CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain, Bordeaux

– CAAC – Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla

– CAAM – Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

– Colección Banco de España, Madrid

– La Caixa “Col·lecció Testimoni”, Barcelona

– IVAM – Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia

– Musée d'Art Contemporain, Toulouse (Les Abattoirs)

– Cincinnati Art Museum, USA

– Fundació Chirivella Soriano, Valencia