Felipe Almendros - Meteoro#2

Felipe Almendros — Expanded artistic biography

Felipe Almendros (1976), raised in the Llefià neighborhood in Badalona, is a visual artist, painter, illustrator, comic book author and audiovisual creator. His work is characterized by a strong autobiographical and documentary component, and it unfolds across painting, drawing, graphic novel, animation and cinema.

After an initial phase linked to drawing and comics, Almendros begins to develop a personal pictorial body of work centered on his closest surroundings. His paintings depict people, spaces and situations connected to the periphery of Barcelona, nightlife, popular culture and personal memory. Over time, his painting gradually shifts the marginal landscape toward scenes of leisure, interiors, parties and characters from Barcelona’s nocturnal world.

His pictorial language is figurative, direct and rooted in realism, though distant from a purely photographic reproduction. Brushwork, artificial lighting, framing and the staging of the scene function as narrative elements. Much of his output arises from lived experiences, his own photographs and people from his environment, forming a kind of visual autobiography.

Art critic Andrea García Casal has linked this aspect of his work to the historical tradition of the bambochada, understood as the representation of popular, festive and everyday scenes, transposed here to a contemporary urban context.

Exhibition history

Felipe Almendros’s exhibition career includes shows in galleries, cultural institutions and art spaces in Spain, Japan and Italy:

2008 — ADN Gallery, Barcelona
Presenting Save Our Souls accompanied by plastic works linked to the universe of the publication.

2012 — Freedonia Gallery, Barcelona

2014 — Arts Santa Mònica, Barcelona
Participation in a group exhibition dedicated to Catalan authors.

2016 — Hell Gallery, Barcelona
Exhibition of a series of portraits and scenes linked to his personal and urban surroundings. RTVE highlighted at the time that the show included portraits of family and friends from his street, in addition to elements related to his graphic work VIP.

2017 — Instituto Cervantes of Tokyo, Japan
VIP exhibition, with portraits in oil, drawings, animations and other works related to his graphic novels. The show was organized with the collaboration of the Institut Ramon Llull and was reported by Agencia EFE and La Vanguardia.

2017 — FNAC Callao, Madrid

2017 — FNAC El Triangle, Barcelona

2018 — Ratata Festival, Macerata, Italy

2018 — Librería Molar, Madrid

2018 — Bibav Gallery, Barcelona

2019 — Meteoro Gallery, Barcelona

2021 — Yoko Art Gallery, Barcelona
Resident artist of the gallery, where he presented works belonging to the DIY and Ocaña series.

2022 — CentroCentro Cibeles, Madrid
Participation in the collective Madrid Metal. An Illustrated History of the 80s.

Graphic novel and publications

Felipe Almendros’s graphic and pictorial work maintains a close thematic and autobiographical relationship.

His main publications are:

2009 — Save Our Souls — Apa Apa
2011 — R.I.P. — Penguin Random House
2015 — SOS — Agrume, French edition
2017 — VIP — Penguin Random House

VIP closed a autobiographical trilogy begun with Save Our Souls and R.I.P. and attracted wide media attention. VICE dedicated an extensive interview to his creative process and to the relationship between autobiography, fiction, painting and graphic novel.

Audiovisual and animation

Alongside his painting and editorial work, Almendros has developed a sustained trajectory in animation, videography and music videos.

Among his collaborations are: Remate — Gigante (2012), Dawn Wiener (2018), Quanzhou, New Jersey (2020)
Technopolitans — Koala (2016)
Clara Te Canta — Orgía Sideral (2018)
J. Vega — Graham Coxon on Drugs (2019), Nostos (2021)
Santo Drama — Diablo (2020)
Wild Honey — Dinosaurios y supermercados (2021)
Cora Yako — Uno entre un millón (2022)
Sex Shop Boyz — Brave Enough
Belmonte — Entrenador

He also produced animation work for MTV / MGZ! TV Magazine.

Film and acknowledgments

Felipe Almendros has also participated in film projects related to his autobiographical universe.

In 2020 he starred in El arte de frío, a film by Ander Duque, for which his performance earned Best Actor at the Cinespaña festival.

Subsequently he participated as co-author in Burnout, a film by Ander Duque and Felipe Almendros.

Official website
https://felipealmendros.com/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/felipealmendros/

Press references

RTVE
https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20160701/felipe-almendros-creacion-vive-esclava-del-gusta-facebook/1365803.shtml

La Vanguardia
https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20170203/413974121977/el-comic-urbano-y-musical-de-felipe-almendros-llega-a-tokio-con-un-exposicion.html

El País
https://elpais.com/cultura/2020-05-19/asi-es-quanzhou-new-jersey-una-pieza-creada-por-el-musico-remate-y-el-ilustrador-felipe-almendros.html

Mondo Sonoro
https://www.mondosonoro.com/noticias-actualidad-musical/el-diablo-viste-de-santo-drama/

NOWNESS
https://www.nowness.com/topic/felipe-almendros/remate-dawn-wiener