About Lucas.

Lucas Bononi (b. 1991, Los Angeles) is a contemporary painter based in New York.
 
Trained in expressionism at the Academy of Art University San Francisco, where he earned his BFA in painting, and in naturalism at Grand Central Atelier, he now teaches its core program.
 
Bononi’s paintings intricately weave the human form with elements of nature, using nuanced color and light to create a marbling effect that blends flesh with natural landscapes—rivers, forests, and fires. This interplay aims to reconnect viewers with our primal origins, urging a reverence for the unique beauty of nature.
 
His work challenges conventions in contemporary figurative painting by exploring relationships between figuration and abstraction, beauty and chaos. Bononi’s art, adorned with symbolic tribal motifs, reflects our internal connection to our roots, while figures pushed to the canvas’s edge symbolize our increasing detachment from the natural world.
 
His work is showcased in leading museums, galleries, and international art fairs, underscored by global acclaim and critical recognition.
 

About Martin.

Martin Miranda Vargas is a portrait painter and instructor whose work combines classical traditions with modern ideas. Born and raised in Arequipa, Peru, he graduated with a degree in Fine Arts in 2015 before continuing his artistic journey in Europe.

Martin refined his technical skills at the Florence Academy of Art, where he developed a strong foundation in traditional painting techniques. His style grew further at the Barcelona Academy of Art, where he graduated in 2022. There, he learned to mix classical methods with modern approaches, creating a unique style that defines his work today.

Now based in Barcelona, Martin is both a teacher at the BAA and a practicing artist. He is passionate about portraiture and explores themes like identity, self-expression, and belonging, especially in connection with Barcelona’s vibrant queer community. His portraits reflect personal and shared experiences, telling stories about people and their lives.

Recently, his works have been exhibitied in group exhibitions including “Qualia Movimiento Vesperi” at the MEAM Museum (Barcelona, 2024), the Barcelona Academy of Art Teachers Show (BAA Gallery, 2024), and “Qualia Sensaciones Brutas” at Palau Dalmases (Barcelona, 2022).

About Sergio.

Sergio de la Flora was born in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, in 1990. Sergio is a visual artist who trained in Figurative Art at the Barcelona Academy of Art, earning a diploma in its Drawing and Painting program.

He has exhibited individually in Madrid and Barcelona, with his works also featured in international exhibitions in the United States through The Frank Gallery. Among his disinctions is the Best in Show award at the Art Bravo Contest held at Art Serve Gallery (Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA).

His artistic journey was shaped by two pivotal moments. The first was during adolescence, when he began painting graffiti on streets, trains, and subways, immersing himself in urban art. The second came at the age of 27, when he moved to London and felt a deep need to express his thoughts and emotions through drawing and painting. For him, art is essential to human civilization, a timeless means of leaving a legacy that captures specific eras or moments for future generations. His work often reflects a strong social focus, inviting viewers to connect with alternative realities, provoking emotional and intellectual reactions.

 
He is currently a teacher in the Drawing and Painting Program at the Barcelona Academy of Art.

About Mario.

Mario Castillo is an artist and academic, possessing a strong foundation in Fine Arts and a deep engagement with contemporary thought and philosophy.

Having earned his degree in Fine Arts from the University of Granada in 2015, he furthered his studies at the Barcelona Academy of Art, graduating in Drawing and Sculpture in 2018. He also obtained his Master’s degree in Contemporary Thought and Classical Tradition from the University of Barcelona, specializing in Contemporary Thought between 2022 and 2023.

 
Mario has taught at Ramon Llull University in Barcelona from 2016 to 2019, and is currently a professor in the Sculpture Program at the Barcelona Academy of Art.
 
During his academic journey, he has earned scholarships, such as the Ícaro Scholarship from the University of Granada in 2015 and the General Scholarship from the Ministry of Education for postgraduate studies between 2022 and 2023. Additionally, Mario has made significant contributions to the academic field through his research, notably with the publication of his work “Walter Benjamin and Disruptive Writing: On the Critical Condition of Philosophy and Art in Late Capitalism” at the University of Barcelona in 2023.

About Enric.

Enric Sant was born in Barcelona. His family then moved to a village near Montseny. There, he spent his childhood, very much in touch with nature, while he continued studying in Barcelona. He discovered an interest in graffiti from taking train journeys, but it was only when he was a teenager that he began to show an interest in art. He became fully immersed in the world of graffiti and eventually formed several crews, among them one called Mixed Media with Poseydon, Aryz, Grito and Registred, which still exists today. They practiced an unusual style of wall painting, which consisted of painting with a roller, among other peculiarities. At that time the works of Kikx (Enric’s nickname) were of a more humorous style, more focused on technique than concept. After this, his work became more serious.

When he began to study the concept of Fine Art, this became more present in Enric’s work and his technique took on less significance. His works became more introspective, showing some of his darker and more tonal aspects.

Later on, after finishing Fine Art and combining his studies with his first job as an artist in the video game industry, he began to create increasingly grotesque works. This is when “flesh” appeared as the core element of his work, eclipsing the other elements.

The combination of a full-time job in the video game industry, along with his career as an artist, gave Enric a critical view of the work, time and habits of the people who live around him. These circumstances gave a sombre touch to his works at the time, consolidated in his solo exhibition at Montana Gallery (Barcelona) at the end of 2014. In this exposition, his preoccupations at the time are captured, among which references to society, war, death and some references to the world of art stand out. Later, under the influence of friends, artists and family, he decided to fully immerse himself in the world of art, leaving aside the videogame industry and beginning to produce works in which one can see the beginning of a stylistic liberation, which moved away from the more grotesque element of his work. This was driven in part by an invitation to an erotic art exhibition, which pushed him to explore other aspects of artistic expression.

In February 2018, he held his second solo exhibition at ADDA&TAXIE gallery where he “formalised” the liberation of deformation. In this exhibition, called Âpre Zone, a before and after could be seen, with human relations meeting the most classical existentialist questions, giving rise to works of a graphic nature with strident colours and a rethinking of human individuality.

About Raffaella.

Raffaella Freyre  was born in Mexico City, a graduate of the Universidad Iberoamericana de México. Her love of art began when she was a young girl, taking classes with the Spanish painter Demetrio Llordén at the age of 11.

In 2010, she travelled to Florence, Italy where she began her training as a realist painter at The Florence Academy of Art, learning the traditional methods and techniques of the great artists of the 19th century.

During this period, she took additional courses and workshops in anatomy, sculpture and landscape. She graduated in 2014.

After finishing her studies, she travelled to Paris where she worked for the artist Nick Devereux on the large-scale project Flaktrum.

Upon returning to her native Mexico, she had her first individual exhibition at the Fine Arts Center of the ASF Foundation in Mexico City.

In 2016, she arrived in Barcelona where she completed two years of artistic residency at the Barcelona Academy of Art.

She has been a finalist in several international competitions and has obtained scholarships and recognitions, of which the Jurors Award in the 2017 Art Olympia International Competition particularly stands out.

Her works have been exhibited in Mexico, Italy, Spain, London and Tokyo.

About Sofia.

Sofia Zuluaga Bogotá, 1989.

Her works have been exhibited in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, and have been selected as finalists in internationally renowned art competitions such as Figurativas and ModPortrait. In addition, her works have been exhibited in several museums, such as the Pablo Serrano Museum (Zaragoza, Spain) and the Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (Barcelona, Spain).

About Zane.

Zane Prater was born in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. He began his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute and later studied at the Thangde Gatsal painting studio in northern India. In 2016, with the desire to develop his technical and visual skills, he enrolled in the Barcelona Academy of Art. His work is composed of elements of traditional visionary art and direct inspirations from nature. His work has been exhibited in San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, Miami and Barcelona.

About Valentina.

Valentina Zlatarova was born in Plovdiv (Bulgaria). After expressing an interest in art from an early age, Valentina began her formal artistic education at the age of 13 at the Tzanko Lavrenov Art School in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. After graduating in 2004, her interest in figurative sculpture grew and she entered the Florence Academy of Art, where she studied drawing, painting and sculpture, and later joined the school as a teacher on the drawing programme.

In 2007, Valentina established herself as a professional sculptor in London, won the Founders’ Sculpture Award and was twice winner of the Tiranti Award for portrait sculpture. From 2008 to 2012, Valentina also worked as Head Drawing and Sculpture Instructor at the London Atelier of Figurative Art. Valentina’s work is regularly exhibited in public and private collections around the world.

Roser Masip graduated with a doctorate cum laude in Fine Art (1994) from the University of Barcelona Faculty of Fine Art, with her thesis entitled “El pintor Francesc d’A. Galí i Fabra. Nova visió pedagògica de l’ensenyament artístic” (The painter Francesc d’A. Galí i Fabra. A new pedagogical view of artistic teaching). She also graduated in Applied Art and Artistic Crafts (1988), from the Llotja Advanced School of Art and Design in Barcelona, specialising in “Torch fired enamelling for metal and goldsmithery”.

About Pere.

I’ve been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. I graduated in Fine Art at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, specialising in drawing and painting. Since then, I have combined my dedication to painting with ongoing learning in different schools such as the Barcelona Academy of Art and from courses with great artists such as Antonio López, Isabel Quintanilla, Jeremy Mann, Hollis Dunlap and Sean Cheetham, among others.

My work forms part of private collections and public institutions in Spain and the rest of Europe.

About Micol.

Micol Cornali is an artist born in Italy in 1999. She lives and works in Barcelona.

Interested in art from an early age, she attended an art school where she had the opportunity to experiment with various techniques, from digital art to glass modeling, from classical art to restoration. And that’s where she fell in love with sculpture.

She graduated from the Barcelona Academy of Art in figurative sculpture of the 19th century and classical painting. In September 2020, she won the “Self-Portrait in Quarantine” contest with her self-portrait. Additionally, she exhibited at the Punt de Vistes 360 gallery in Barcelona in July 2021. Twice winner of the prestigious worldwide ARC Scholarship in 2021 and 2022, she was part of the “Black and White” exhibition at the Mrs Toolip Art Gallery in Barcelona. Additionally, she was a finalist in the Figurativas 2021 competition, where her work was exhibited at the MEAM (European Museum of Modern Art) in Barcelona. She also received an honorable mention in the 16th International ARC Salon Art and Sculpture Competition in 2022, and she was a finalist in the Figurativas 2023 competition.