Through painting, I explore form, color, and matter to create open images where nature becomes an intimate space for thought and emotion.
The painting practice of Jon Amorrortu is grounded in an ongoing investigation into the language of painting itself. His work unfolds through processes of layering, displacement, and transformation that push the image into an unstable territory between the recognizable and the abstract. Rather than fixed representations, his compositions remain open, in a constant state of reconfiguration.
Within this process, form, color, and matter operate not as subordinate elements but as active structures that organize the image. Painting becomes a field of decisions, where each layer responds to an internal logic closer to construction than to description.
In recent years, nature has gained increasing presence in his work, not as a subject but as a device through which to approach the intimate. Vegetation, organic forms, and atmospheric traces suggest more than they reveal, opening a space where what remains latent can begin to surface.
Jon Amorrortu (Bilbao, 1990) is an artist trained at the University of the Basque Country, where he completed a Master’s degree in Painting in 2022, following a Fine Arts degree with a focus on painting and postgraduate studies at the Complutense University of Madrid. His practice is grounded in painting as a field of investigation, addressing the complexity of formal tensions, the interplay of finishes, and the tactile dimension of the pictorial surface.
While his work spans a wide range of themes, it is primarily concerned with the exploration of the contemporary individual in relation to the natural environment. However, rather than focusing on subject matter, his interest lies in the how: in processes, in the intrinsic qualities of painting, and in the dialogue between representation and abstraction, which he defines as a “deconstructed realism.” Within his compositions, everyday elements—landscapes, figures, objects, fragments—coexist with visual structures that destabilize the image and open it to new interpretations.
Process plays a central role in his practice. His methodology is based on layering and the use of collage, both digital and analogue, as a tool for constructing pictorial space. Starting from drawings, photographs, texts, or color studies, his work evolves from small-scale formats into more complex compositions, incorporating materials such as watercolor, marker, wax, spray paint, acrylic, and oil. This progression—open to error and unpredictability—is integral to a practice that understands painting as a space of experimentation.
In recent years, he has developed a strong exhibition trajectory with numerous solo shows, including Cúbreme de flores(Sala Portalea, Eibar, 2026), Todo se volverá jardín (Madrid, 2024), Desde el resto (Bilbao, 2023), Qué más da, si al final es pintura (Deba, 2023), as well as Gris Bilbao and Un huracán vino a verme (Bilbao, 2022), among others presented across the Basque Country and Navarra.
His work has also been featured in group exhibitions at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, the Bilbao Fine Arts Reproduction Museum, Sala Araba in Vitoria, La Alhóndiga in Segovia, and Fundación Ibercaja in Zaragoza, as well as in exhibitions in Madrid, Bilbao, Palma de Mallorca, and other cities.
His artistic development has been supported by residencies and grants including Azpeitiako Udala, Nautilus Lanzarote, the San Quirce Academy (Segovia), Fundación BilbaoArte, and Encontro de Artistas Novos (Santiago de Compostela). His work has been recognized in several national awards, including the Ibercaja Young Painting Prize, the Miquel Viladrich Prize, the Fundación Gaceta Regional de Salamanca Prize, and the Real Club Mediterráneo Prize.
Alongside his artistic practice, he is the director and cultural manager of Marra Gunea in Bilbao, an independent space dedicated to contemporary artistic experimentation and exhibition projects.
