20th - 21st Century Spanish

Nacho Criado is one of the pioneers of experimental art in Spain. He studied Architecture in Madrid and Sociology in Barcelona. His first solo exhibition, titled Homenaje a Rothko, was held in 1970 at Galería Sen in Madrid.

At the beginning of his career, the style of this Andalusian sculptor was predicated on a minimalist vernacular. The basic materials he used in his work were wood and iron, with special attention to the natural transformation and destruction of matter.

Though largely inflected by , his search for tools and strategies for experimentation led him to engage with practices such as video, performance and .

He also used waste materials, which he recycled with a view to underscoring notions such as the passing of time, fleetingness and the transience of life, the core concerns of this work. As Fernando Castro Flórez contended: “time is the material with which Nacho Criado makes his works.”

He took part in major group shows including the Pamplona Encounters in 1972, the Venice Biennale in 1977, the Universal Expo in Seville in 1992, and Fuera de formato at Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid in 1983, a key project for the ongoing development of in Spain which Criado co-curated. Worth highlighting among his one-person shows are IVAM (1999), Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid (2006) and Museo Reina Sofía (2012).

In 2001 he was awarded the Pablo Ruiz Picasso Arts Prize, in 2007 the Mariano Benlliure Prize, in 2008 the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, and in 2009 the National Visual Arts Prize. Just a few months after receiving this last-named prize, Criado died at home in Madrid following a long-term illness.