MARTIN BLANCO

Art as a way of exploring what remains unchanged beneath the surface of time.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work explores the emotional and psychological experiences that connect us as human beings.
Although the imagery often draws from mythology, art history, symbolism and contemporary culture, the subjects themselves are familiar: desire, loneliness, ego, frustration, judgement, identity, fear and the search for meaning.

I am interested in the tension between beauty and unease.
My paintings often combine dark or surreal imagery with moments of beauty, using sombre figures and symbolic environments to explore situations that, despite their particular appearance, can belong to anyone.

The past is rarely as distant as we think.
Mythological figures, religious imagery and references from the history of art become tools through which I examine contemporary life, looking for the connections between the dilemmas of the present and those that have existed for centuries.

INFLUENCES

My visual language has been shaped by very different sources: Renaissance and Baroque painting, Surrealism, horror cinema and literature, and the visual culture surrounding heavy metal.
From the dramatic lighting of Caravaggio to the distorted realities of Dalí, these influences coexist with the darker imagery of horror and the intensity of heavy metal.

BIOGRAPHY

Martin Blanco is an internationally exhibited and award-winning contemporary artist living and working in the Principality of Andorra. Born in Argentina, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts and has developed an artistic practice spanning both traditional and digital media.

His work encompasses oil painting, graphite drawing and digital art, combining figurative representation with surreal and symbolic imagery. His current practice is particularly focused on the emotional and psychological dimensions of the human experience, exploring themes such as identity, desire, loneliness, ego, frustration and social judgement.

Throughout his career, Blanco has developed a distinctive visual language in which references to mythology, art history and contemporary culture coexist with darker and surreal elements. His work often establishes connections between contemporary concerns and archetypal human conflicts, examining how ideas that appear new can often be traced back to questions that have existed for centuries.

Alongside his traditional practice, Blanco developed an extensive body of digital work through photographic manipulation and digital painting, establishing an international presence in the field of digital art. His work has been exhibited in Europe and the United States, both in solo and group exhibitions, and is held in permanent collections including the Reece Museum in Tennessee and the Credit Andorrà Foundation in the Principality of Andorra.

SELECTED AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

2025 — Finalist.
Boynes Artist Award.
2024 — Online selection.
The Almenara Art Prize.
2023 — Official selection.
LICC. London International Creative Competition.
2019 — Best Artist.
Ordino Jardins d’Art. Andorra.
2015 — Award of Merit.
Hot topics - Bold expressions. Manhattan Arts International.
2014 — Award of Excellence.
Anything goes II. Exhibitions without Walls Organization.
2013 — Honorable Mention.
4th Art Contest. Artavita Artist Community. USA.
2011 — Third prize.
Who's creative? 2. Art Creations Magazine. USA.
2011 — Top 100 finalist.
International Art Search". USA.
2011 — Top 100.
International Charlatan Ink Prize. USA.
2010 — First Prize.
XVI Cartell Arts Andorra Painting Award. Arts and Letters Circle. Andorra.
2010 — First Prize.
Personality. Caladan Gallery. Massachusetts, USA.
2010 — Honorable Mention.
All Media Competition. Artists Magazine. USA.
2008 — First Prize.
Inner Noise. Caladan Gallery. Massachusetts, USA.
2008 — Honorable Mention.
Inspire the Inspired. YayArt. Denmark.
2008 — Honorable Mention.
Silos del siglo XXI. Villacañas Council, Toledo, Spain.
2007 — First Prize.
Best Comic Book. New York Horror Film Festival. USA.

EXHIBITIONS

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024 — DIES IRAE · Espai Caldes, Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra
2016 — Modern Scent of Life · L’Era d’Ordino, Andorra
2014 — Snapshots · Baroc Art, Roda de Barà, Tarragona, Spain
2011 — Circus of the Forgotten Souls · Museu del Còmic, La Massana, Andorra
2010 — Usual Nightmares · La Llacuna Cultural Center, Andorra
2010 — Usual Nightmares · Caladan Gallery, Massachusetts, USA
2009 — Everyday Habits · La Llacuna Cultural Center, Andorra
2009 — Insane Postcards · La Massana Comic, Andorra
2008 — Insane Postcards · Caladan Gallery, Massachusetts, USA
2008 — Insane Postcards · Mon Bohemi, Andorra
2003 — Adagio · Drassanes Cívic Center, Barcelona, Spain
1999 — Adagio · Encuentr'Arte Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina

GROUP & JURIED EXHIBITIONS

2025 — Boynes Artist Award
2025 — Snap to Grid · LACDA – Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, USA
2024 — The Almenara Art Prize, Spain
2023 — LICC – London International Creative Competition
2022 — MEAM Hall · European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM), Barcelona, Spain
2022 — 22×22: The Magnitude of the Small Format · Escaldes-Engordany Art Center (CAEE), Andorra
2019 — Ordino Jardins d’Art, Andorra
2018 — Electron Salon · LACDA – Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, USA
2018 — Prefacio · Léucade Gallery, Spain
2017 — Art & Society · Escaldes-Engordany Art Center, Andorra
2017 — ComArtPedrosa 2.0 · Art Festival, Comapedrosa, Andorra
2017 — The Core Project, Dublin, Ireland
2017 — Ordino Jardins d’Art, Andorra
2016 — Red and Black · Gallery X, Dublin, Ireland
2016 — Damned IX · Tangent Gallery, Detroit, USA
2016 — ArtPrize · Art Festival, Michigan, USA
2016 — ComArtPedrosa 2.0 · Art Festival, Comapedrosa, Andorra
2016 — Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka Tribute · Ripattoni Arte, Teramo, Italy
2016 — Figuration and Abstraction · Ceretània Museum, Bolvir, Spain
2016 — Art i Vi · College of Architects of Andorra, Andorra
2015 — Exposure · Louvre Museum, Paris, France
2015 — Electron Salon · LACDA – Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, USA
2015 — Masquerade · Gallery X, Dublin, Ireland
2015 — Evoluzione del Ritratto · ONART Gallery, Florence, Italy
2015 — 3rd FL3TCH3R Exhibit · Reece Museum, Tennessee, USA
2015 — H.R. Giger Tribute · Ripattoni Arte, Ripattoni, Italy
2015 — Travelling Exhibition · Barcelona, Madrid & Paris
2015 — Summer Exhibition · Javier Roman Gallery, Málaga, Spain
2015 — ArtKudos · International Competition, USA
2015 — Hot Topics – Bold Expressions · Manhattan Arts International
2014 — Snap to Grid · LACDA – Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, USA
2014 — SCOPE Art Miami · See.Me Community, USA
2014 — SeeMe Take Over Times Square · New York, USA
2014 — Anything Goes II · Exhibitions Without Walls Organization
2014 — International Open Call · Gallery For.Me
2014 — 24 Mostra d’Art d’Andorra · Government of Andorra
2013 — Damned VI · Tangent Gallery, Detroit, USA
2013 — Creatives Rising · Guggenheim Museum / MoMA, New York, USA
2013 — The Story of the Creative · Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York, USA
2013 — Books of Art · Jardin Cosmique Gallery, Andorra
2013 — HM12: Substantia · Hysterical Minds
2013 — Simply the Best 2 · Digital Arts California, USA
2012 — 23 Mostra d’Art d’Andorra · Government of Andorra
2011 — The Cross: Through the Artists · Latvia, Estonia & Lithuania
2011 — The Cross: Through the Artists · Andorra
2011 — Haze · Brick Lane Gallery, London, UK
2011 — I Am Abnormal 2 · Abnormals Gallery, Poznań, Poland
2011 — 4+1 · Ara Art Gallery, Andorra
2010 — I Am Abnormal 2 · Abnormals Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2010 — XVI Cartell Arts Andorra Painting Award · Arts and Letters Circle, Andorra
2010 — 21 Mostra d’Art d’Andorra · Government of Andorra
2010 — He Is the True Artist Whose Life Is His Material · Still Point Gallery, USA
2010 — Personality · Caladan Gallery, Massachusetts, USA
2010 — Spring Expo · Infinity Gallery, USA
2009 — Fall/Winter Show · American Juried Art Salon, Texas, USA
2009 — Credit Andorra Painting Award · Arts and Letters Circle, Andorra
2009 — Fear III · Project 30 Gallery, USA
2009 — June Exhibition · House of Scratch Gallery, Canada
2008 — YayArt Tour · Travelling Exhibition, Denmark
2008 — Inner Noise · Caladan Gallery, Massachusetts, USA
2008 — After Life · Watson Gallery Studio, Texas, USA

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS

Reece Museum. TN. USA.
Credit Andorra Foundation. Principality of Andorra