Yago Hortal

YAGO HORTAL (Barcelona, 1983).
8" Quee.
Resin.
With stamps on the base.
Measurements: 23 x 23 x 26 cm.

Qee is a line of designer dolls created by the founder and president of Toy2r, Raymond Choy. Born in 2002 in Hong Kong, Quee has revolutionized the world of design, introducing contemporary art into the vinyl toy market. Under the slogan "Everyone can design", Choy's identifying idea has brought together the creations of important artists from all over the world, from Eugenio Merino, Emilio García, Albert Pinya or Elenza Monzo, to Chu Uroz, Manuel Ocampo or Max Ripo. In this way, each artist captures on these dolls -a particular "3D canvas"- his or her way of understanding the world. These curious characters are available in various sizes including 1.5", 2.5", 8", 16", 36" and the 60" Qee. Toy2r also provides D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) Qees for aspiring designers. They are articulated, as they move the head, arms and legs. Since its birth, Toy2r has received numerous internationally renowned awards around the world, becoming a leading firm in design toys.

Yago Hortal began exhibiting in 2006 and since then he has already had a considerable international tour, becoming a benchmark in the current art scene. His work is based on the revision of abstract painting, creating images from the way it is applied (large sweeps, splashes, thick accumulations, overflowing brushstrokes) and its physical characteristics. In his pieces the brushstroke grows so much that it acquires volume, and combines with a vitalistic and colorful language that radiates optimism. Considered by Enrique Juncosa, former deputy director of the Reina Sofía Museum and a great specialist in the figure of Miquel Barceló, as an artist who continues the Catalan material tradition, including Tàpies and Barceló - albeit with a totally different chromatic range - Hortal has established himself as an essential figure of the new international pictorial generation.

At the individual level Hortal has exhibited his work at the Senda Gallery in Barcelona (years 2021, 2018, 2016, 2016, 2013, 2009, 2008), at the Can Framis Museum (retrospective exhibition in 2021), at the Nikolaus Ruzicska Gallery in Salburg, Austria (years 2021, 2017, 2016), at Dirimart Nisantasi in Istanbul (2017), at the Maior Gallery in Pollença (2015), at the Casal Solleric, Fundació Palma Espai d'Art in Mallorca (2012), at the Egbert Baqué Contemporary Art in Berlin (2011) and at the Rooster Gallery in New York (2011). Currently his work is represented in important collections: MOCO Museum, Papko Art Collection, FerkoArt, MAC - Museum of Contemporary Art Union Fenosa, Fundació Vila Casas, Castell de Peralada. CCA Andratx, Josep Mª Civit Collection, Ernesto Ventós Foundation. Banc Sabadell and University of Barcelona.