Angela de la Cruz Deflated 21 (Red), 2011 Oil on canvas 190 x 80 x 40 cm Angela De La Cruz’s Deflated 21 (red) exists as both painting and sculpture. Stretched, painted, undone and hung from a single point, the work suggests an emotional as well as a physical process of de- and re-construction; defying the aggressive tendencies of the monochrome to present a more storied presence. De la Cruz has for over 20 years interrogated the form and language of painting. Despite a seemingly iconoclastic approach, there remains an integral connection between her work and the history of painting, with particular reference to the monochrome. Emotionally raw, yet canny and sharply ironic, de la Cruz confronts the ‘problem’ of painting by incorporating its very destruction into the work itself. Angela De la Cruz (born La Coruna, Spain, 1962; based in London, UK) was nominated for the Turner Prize, 2010. Major solo exhibitions include After, Camden Arts Centre, London, 2010; Trabalho/Work, Culturgest, Porto, Portugal, 2006; and Larger than Life/Más grande que la vida, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla, Spain, 2005. Recent group exhibitions include Nostalgic for the Future, Lisson Gallery, London and Centro Brasileiro-Britânico, Sao Paulo, 2013; Le Futur commence ici, FRAC/AP2, Dunkerque, France, 2013; Delimitations, Herzliya Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2012; and What to think, what to desire, what to do, Caixa Forum, Barcelona, 2012.
