20^th – 21^st century, Spanish

José Sanleón is an artist from Valencia who studied at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts of Valencia, where he currently works as a teacher. He began his career in art in the 1980s when he came to be regarded in Spain as one of the decade’s most innovative practitioners.

With the passing of the years his practice evolved from to conceptual painting. In his most recent works, in which he lends a greater role to chance, Sanleón makes good use of new materials such as sheets of iron.

Defined by an evident liking for colour and textured supports, his style is highly gestural and expressionist, which the artist applies to densely rendered figurative subject matters.

He has had many solo exhibitions including those held in the 1980s at Galería del Palau and Galería Val i 30, both in Valencia, and in Galleria De Crescenzo, Rome and Forum, Zurich. Among his many group shows we could highlight 30 artistes valencians, organised in 1981 by the Valencia City Council.

In 2007 the IVAM (Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno) organised a major retrospective survey of his production with over one hundred works.