Andrés Nagel was born in San Sebastián in 1947. He initially trained as an architect (obtaining his degree in 1972) before turning to art, which he taught himself. Experimenting as a painter, sculptor and printmaker, Nagel has become one of the contemporary Basque artists with the greatest international recognition.
Despite eclectic tastes nourished by a continuous urge to travel and discover, figuration (or postmodern figuration as some label it) has been a through point of his painting, sculpture and engraving. This tendency can be contextualised as a reaction that opposed, in the 1960s and 70s, the then predominant abstract and informalist styles.
Thematically, Nagel deals mostly with social issues with a degree of sarcasm and irreverence reminiscent of New Madrid figuration while simultaneously adopting influences from pop art (colours and urban themes), surrealism (shocking and humorous approaches) and arte povera (use of humble materials and waste). His irreverence has led some of his works to garner controversy: on 20 November 1975, the day of Franco’s death, one of Nagel’s sculptures had to be removed from a shop window, and in 1982 he presented another controversial work in the Museum of History of Madrid, which was rejected by some but nonetheless remained on display.
In 1972, he began experimenting with engraving as a member of Grupo Quince, which also featured work from other Basque artists in the field of defiant figuration. Within the group, he met Eduardo Chillida, who made a lasting mark on his career.
He first began exhibiting in 1968 in San Sebastián. In 1974, he opened his first exhibition in the Spanish capital, at Galería Iolas-Velasco, and exhibited later that same year in Bilbao, at Galería Luzaro. Nagel began exhibiting his print work from 1979 onwards, starting at La Ciudadela in Pamplona.
In the medium of sculpture, his work has also generated controversy and debate. Indeed, some of Nagel’s works have been installed in public spaces around the world. In 1987, the artist placed a large steel sculpture in a square in Barcelona. In 1991, he was commissioned for a sculpture for the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan. In 2001, a sculpture of his was exhibited in the gardens of the historic Palais Royal in Paris, on the occasion of the exhibition 50 ans de sculpture espagnole (50 years of Spanish sculpture), and later ended up in the Retiro Park in Madrid. In 2003, in a square in the Biscayan municipality of Amorebieta-Echano, the artist inaugurated an eight-metre bronze sculpture, popularly nicknamed La patata (the potato). This work led to a prolonged conflict with the local council, which sought to displace it invoking urban planning reasons. A staunch defender of intellectual property, Nagel considered that the change of location would distort the monument.
Nagel’s latest solo exhibitions include: Galería 3 Punts, Barcelona (2004); Galería Marlborough , Madrid (2003 – graphic work); Vizcaya, Zornotza Aretoa, Amorebieta, Spain (2003); Tasende Gallery, La Jolla, California (2002); Galería Colón XVI, Bilbao (2002); Galería Moisés Pérez de Albéniz, Pamplona (2002); Galería Antonia Puyó, Zaragoza (2002 – photography); Galería Mácula, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (2002); Galleria San Carlo, Milan (2001).
