
GRIP FACE
PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN 1989
Grip face is visual artist David Oliver’s alter ego. (1989)
Moving around with ease among the nooks seems to be an idiosyncratic quality of this visual artist, maybe because he always perceived himself as outsider, never feeling quite comfortable with any tag whatsoever, while feeling equally anxious and always in the expectative when faced with the prospect of a society constantly in disguise. A society that seems irretrievably compelled to technological massification, to communication through devices, to superficial relationships and to the concealment of truth.
Similarly to a screen that repeats staggeringly an “error” message in fivefold overlapping windows, Grip Face’s painting provides a playful space full of layers within which one may dissect the concerns of an impatient generation, hungry for information- reliable or not- and to whom the internet landscape seems to be the best platform onto which one may learn the savoir-faire properly. His cloths are not familiar with the impatient indexes pommeling on the mouse’s left side; every layer of every piece of information is processed in a precise and meticulous way, and the technique is never trivial.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
- 2021 – Saudade 01/158 Sc gallery, Bilbao
- 2020 – “Máscaras de una generación millennial” Cerquone Gallery, Madrid
- 2018 – “Precollapse” Pep Llabrés Gallery. Palma. Majorca
- 2017 – ’Exported items’ Jan Arnold Gallery, Vienna. Austria
- 2016 – “Black faces” Sc Gallery, Bilbao. Basque Country
- 2016 – Doors without destination, CCA Andratx. Majorca
- 2015 – “Decomposed in an uncertain present”, Miscelanea Gallery, Barcelona
- 2011 – “Routes without destination”, I/A Gallery, Palma. Majorca
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
- 2022 – “SELFIE” curated by Ester Almeda, Galería Moisés Pérez Albéniz, Madrid
- 2022 – “Relaciones publicas” curated by Jordi Pallarès – Cerquone Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela
- 2022 – Group show, Slika Gallery, Lyon, France
- 2022 – “Erretratu” Group show SC gallery, Bilbao, Spain
- 2022 – “UGLY” group show. YIRIARTS gallery Taipei, Taiwan
- 2021 – “FAMILIA” group show, Woaw Gallery, Hong Kong
- 2021 – “FRESH” group show, Padre Gallery, New york
- 2021 – “Nice Guys Live Forever”, curated by Moosey projects. Hoxton arches, London
- 2021 – FLYSCH – group show. Sc Gallery, Bilbao
- 2020 – It’s a Match, group exhibition. HFA space. Vienna, Austria
- 2020 – “QUARANTINE” group exhibition. Sc Gallery. Bilbao, Biscay
- 2019 – “Summer show” group exhibition. Lundgren Gallery. Palma, Mallorca
- 2019 – “Art in my mouth: Manila” group exhibition curated by Moosey art project. Secret F. Gallery. Manila, Philippines
- 2018 – “Resistance X” group exhibition 10th anniversary SC Gallery. Bilbao
- 2018 – “I BAG YOU” collective exhibition curated by Ida-Marie Corell at Kunstraumretz Art Center. Retz,Austria
- 2017 – “Present immediat” curated by Pilar Rubí, Sa Nostra Cultural Centre, Palma. Majorca
- 2017 – Streetartpassage/ Open archive, Jan Arnold Gallery. Vienna, Austria
- 2016 – “We are antonyms” Fabra i Coats. Barcelona. Catalonia
- 2016 – Consell de Mallorca Exhibition. N/P Centre la Misericordia. Palma
- 2015 – “Final” curated by Jordi Pallarès, Sc Gallery bilbao. Biscay
- 2015 – “Graphic Correspondences”, Feira Plana, Sao Paulo. Brazil
- 2015 – “Intervened Archive”, curated by Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta. Saltillo Contemporary Art Festival, Mexico
- 2015 – “Pass this on” curated by Jordi Pallarès. Taca space, Palma. Majorca
- 2014 – Miniprint fair, Hyvinkää Art Museum. Hyvinkää. Finland
- 2014 – Opening Print workers, Printworkes gallery. Barcelona. Catalonia
- 2013 – SR/ OFF, C.A.C. Ses voltes with the collaboration of the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation. Curated by Grip Face & Jordi Pallarès. Palma. Majorca
- 2013 – “Subversive routes II”, curated by Grip Face. Ikara Gallery. Barcelona. Catalonia
- 2013 – 40putes. 1 any de putes i mamades. Pelaires Gallery. Palma. Majorca
- 2012 – The Invisibles, curated by Jordi Pallarès. Centro Son Tugores. Alaró. Majorca
- 2012 – “Tripode”, curated by Grip Face. I/A Gallery. Palma. Majorca
- 2012 – “Subversive ways”, curated by Grip Face. Sa Possessió. Palma. Majorca
PRIZES
- 2017 – 1 Prize International Contest of contemporary painting Sant Marçal (Marratxi). Majorca
- 2016 – Finalist in the public competition “REHABILITART” / Mural Gestos post-catarsis. Palma City Council. Majorca
- 2014 – Selected competition Miniprint Finland show. Hyvinkää Museum. Finland
COLLECTIONS
- SOLO Collection
- M.E.R FOUNDATION
- SANTILLANA FOUNDATION
- MELÍA Private Collection
- CAPRILES COLLECTION
- BLACK WELL COLLECTION
SITE-SPECIFIC PROJECTS
- 2018 – Mural indoor site-specific for Espacio Solo. COLECCION SOLO MUSEUM. Madrid
- 2017 – European bathers. Urban mural intervention curated by Jan Arnold Gallery. Vienna. Austria
- 2016 – Site-specific intervention “O”. Doors without destination” project. La Misericòrdia Cultural Centre, Consell de Mallorca & CCA Andratx. Palma. Majorca
- 2015 – Interventions for the “Black Faces” project. Naples (Italy), Barcelona (Spain), Amsterdam (Netherlands)
PUBLISHED BOOKS
- 2021 – Second book “Diario visual vol 1” . Co-edited by Colección Solo & Cerquone projects. Text by Basilio Baltasar.
- 2016 – Book “Black faces”, the first book by the artist that gathers all the interventions and works of this international project. Co-edited by Illenc & Collaboration SC Gallery. Bilbao