Alain Urrutia (Bilbao, Spain, 1981) lives and works in Berlin.

He graduated from the University of the Basque Country and the Brera Academy in Milan in 2004. He was an artist in residence at the MA Studio (Beijing, 2011) and at the Rogeland Art Centre (Stavanger, Norway, 2008) among others.

Urrutia has displayed his work at international art venues including the Boston Centre for the Arts, CA2M Madrid, Artium Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

His work analyses new readings of pre-existing images by fragmenting and reconstructing their reality and eliminating their own story through painting; a game of shadows in which, through black and white layers and resources such as reframing and concealment, some details are highlighted to produce images with a certain degree of mystery.

Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Punto di partenza’ at Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia (2026); ‘Regard sur le regard’ at CAB Centro de Arte de Burgos (2025); ‘Melancol.as’ at Pelaires Gallery, Palma de Mallorca, and ‘Piedritas bajo la almohada’ at Casa Siza / Galer.a Saenger, Mexico City (2024); ‘Pensare con lo sguardo / Giorgio Morandi – Alain Urrutia’ at MAAB Gallery, Milan, ‘Framed’ at Kewenig Gallery, Berlin, and ‘The Immortal’ at Pelaires Gallery (2023); ‘Memorabilia’ at MAAB Gallery, Milan (2022); ‘Conticinio’ at Pelaires Gallery (2021); ‘PANDO’ at Aldo Chaparro Studio, Mexico City, and ‘The Age of Anxiety’ at Casado Santapau Gallery, Madrid (2019); ‘Mirror Rim’ at Appleton Square, Lisbon, and DIDAC Foundation, Santiago de Compostela (2017–2018); ‘Sociedade Anonima; True Lies’ at Kunsthalle S.o Paulo (2015); ‘Grey Flag’ at Artium Museum, Vitoria (2013); and ‘Chapter II’ at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2012).

His work has also been included in group exhibitions such as ‘NACHLEBEN. Totes les imatges s.n pintures possibles’ at Es Baluard Museum, Palma de Mallorca (2025); ‘Mundu berri bat ikusteke / Un mundo nuevo por ver’ at Bilbao Museoa (2024); ‘High Spirits’ at Monopol Berlin, and ‘Andrea Branzi – Alain Urrutia’ at Banca Mediolanum, Padova (2023); ‘Basque Artist Program (2015–2019)’ at Guggenheim Museoa Bilbao, and ‘Una historia de arte reciente (1960–2020), II’ at Fundaci.n Joan March, Palma de Mallorca (2022); ‘Pintura. Renovaci.n permanente’ at Museo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid, and ‘An Eye Line’ at Egg Gallery, Beijing (2021); ‘Ask Me Anything’ at MAAB Gallery, Milan (2020); ‘Library of Love’ at Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, ‘Sobrexposici.n’ at EAC Montevideo, and ‘Del Rigor en la Ciencia’ at Centro P.rraga, Murcia (2017); ‘Rehabitar el espacio: presente, pasado y futuro’ at Museo L.zaro Galdiano, Madrid (2016); ‘Feelers’ at Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, and ‘Monochrome’ at Beers Contemporary, London (2015); ‘Suturak/Cerca a lo pr.ximo’ at Museo San Telmo, Donostia-San Sebasti.n (2014); ‘Historias de la Historia’ at Fundaci.n Barri., Vigo (2013); ‘Wunderkammer’ at Museum Nacht, Delft (2012); ‘EXPOLIS’ at Triennale di Milano (2011); and ‘Antes que todo / Before Everything’ at CA2M, Madrid (2010).

In modern life, we are surrounded by endless representations of society that distance ourselves from authentic life, whilst others have sought to understand this phenomenon “all that once was directly lived has become mere representation” (Debord, 1967).

There is an assumption that multimedia, specifically, visual representations can be read and interpreted superficially. At face value, I aim to challenge this by rethinking how we can question our existing assumptions and interpretations of what we can see and experience.

I am interested in creating an undercurrent of undiscovered meanings that flow through the core of my work. I encourage interpretations and meanings to gradually unfold over a slow and reflective process. When conceptualising images as a language, I seek to portray them as words, making sentences and creating a narrative through their arrangement.

The images used are references taken from an ever-expanding photography archive that I have collated. I continue to build this with references of everyday life, personal experiences and external stimuli that shape me and form a collective memory of a time that we are living in. —

Alain Urrutia