Bubi Canal (b. 1980, Santander, Spain) is a Spanish-American artist based in New York whose photography, video art, and sculpture playfully addresses ideas around hybrid mythology, identity and personal history. After earning a BFA at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, he went on to study at the Complutense University of Madrid, before moving to New York in 2011. Canal’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at galleries and institutions worldwide, including the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati; Digitaliseum in Malmö, Sweden; and Munch Gallery in New York. He has also shown work in numerous group exhibitions, in venues including the Galicia Contemporary Art Center in Spain, Aperture Foundation in New York, NOW Gallery in London, and Benaki Museum in Athens.
Canal’s work was featured on the cover of The British Journal of Photography. He was selected for the 2016 issue of Foam Talent, and included in the Foam Talent group exhibitions at Red Hook Labs in New York City and Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall in London. He has contributed to New York Magazine, The New Yorker and T Magazine - The New York Times. Canal was an artist-in-residence at Silver Art Projects, an organization that supports artists by providing a yearlong studio space in New York.
Education
2005 BFA, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain
2004 SICUE-Seneca, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Horizon, Nave Sotoliva, Santander, Spain
2019 Into the Gloaming, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati
2016 Hologram, Digitaliseum, Malmö, Sweden
2015 Magic Garden, Munch Gallery, New York
2013 Special Moment, Munch Gallery, New York
2011 Supercolor, Del Sol St. Art Gallery, Santander
2010 Supercolor, La Fresh Gallery, Madrid
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 I Don't Know How To Respond To That, PhMuseum, Bologna, Italy
2022 Human Stories, NOW Gallery, London
Colección 2022, LCDLLUZ, Santander, Spain
2020 New Horizons, Digitaliseum, Malmö, Sweden
2019 Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens
2018 On The Wall, Arts+Literature Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin
In·spire, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York
Identidad y Máscara, La Encartada Museoa, Balmaseda, Bizkaia
2017 Still Searching, The Benaki Museum, Athens
Foam TALENT, Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall, London
Mujhéroes, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México
Foam TALENT, Red Hook Labs, New York
2016 Photography is Magic, Aperture Foundation, New York
Rencontres Internationales, Gaîté Lyrique, Paris
Erik Hanson ‘Two years of looking’, New Art Projects, London
Rituals and Performance, Lagos Photo Festival, Nigeria
Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens
2015 Non objective, Circuit 12 Contemporary, Dallas
Interface, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York
Art After Dark, AMA Art Museum of the Americas, Washington
H30/003 The Drift, Three Rivers, Pittsburgh
Art Up!, Samuel Maenhoudt Gallery, Lille, France
2014 Unseen Photo Fair, Galería Tagomago, Amsterdam
P2P, PHoto España 2014, Fernán Gómez, Madrid
Turismo Efímero, Centro Cultural Pachano Lalama, Ambato, Ecuador
Bubi Canal for Spain Fresh, Bowery, New York
Turismo Efímero, ADDAYA, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Mallorca
2013 Trust In Me, Field Projects Gallery, New York
Video Dumbo, Eyebeam Art+Technology Center, New York
Turismo Efímero, Galería Anomalía, México D.F
Illustrative Berlin, Direktorenhaus Gallery, Berlin
Don't Look at My Camera, Museu da Image, Braga, Portugal
Last Night, Jugada a tres bandas, Galería 6mas1, Madrid
2012 Psychopomp, Munch Gallery, New York
Rencontres Internationales, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
It’s a Small, Small World, Family Business Gallery, New York
Dandi, Jugada a 3 bandas, Mad is Mad, Madrid
Fonlad, Galería Santa Clara, Coimbra, Portugal
2011 Rencontres Internationales, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Skeletor Saves, Headquarters Studios, New York
BYOB Bring Your Own Beamer, Matadero, Madrid
La música es la respuesta a tus problemas, La Fresh Gallery, Madrid
2010 Arte Lisboa, Del Sol St Art Gallery, Lisboa
Videomusichat Generation, Espace Ample, Barcelona
MutaVideo, MID_E Studio, Arteleku, San Sebastián
Arte Santander, Del Sol St Art Gallery, Santander
Óptica Festival, La Casa Encendida, Madrid
El Tiempo Encapsulado, BAC, H2O Gallery, Barcelona
Honors and Awards
2021 1854 Fast Track, The British Journal of Photography, London
2020 Photography Gold Medal, New York Magazine, SPD Awards, New York 2019 Spain Arts & Culture, Washington DC
Nominated Prix Pictet, Hope, London
2016 Foam Talent, Amsterdam
2011 Archivo de Creadores de Madrid, Matadero, Madrid
2011 Visual Arts Fellowship, Government of Cantabria, Santander
2009 Óptica Award, Best Gallery Video, Del Sol St. Art Gallery, Madrid
Residencies
2021 Silver Art Projects, Artist Residency, New York
Public Talks
2024 Walk-Through of Bubi Canal’s Horizon, Nave Sotoliva, Santander
2020 Artist talk, Two Pages Project, London
2019 Chat with Bubi Canal, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati
Lecture Series, DAAP, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati
2018 Diálogos de artistas en español, NYFA, New York
2017 Walk-Through for Parsons at Foam Talent, Red Hook Labs, New York 2016 Artist talk, Digitaliseum, Malmö, Sweden
2016 Foam Talent Panel Discussion, Unseen Photo Fair, Amsterdam
2015 Interface Artist Walk-Through, Leslie-Lohman Museum, New York
2012 Creators of Matadero, Matadero, Madrid
Publications
2023 Horizon, Nave Sotoliva
2017 American-ABCD, Paripe Books
2016 Bubi Canal, Jorge Clar, Pupa Press
2014 Dreamtime, ACDOS Actividad Contemporánea
2013 Manual, RV.Papers
Teaching
2021 Howl High arts educational program, Howl! Happening, New York
2020 Color: Material + Light, Montserrat College of Art, Massachusetts
Learning Lab, TUMO Center, Yerevan, Armenia
MasterClass, Cesine University, Santander, Spain
2018 Bubi Canal Workshop, Wix Design Playground, New York
2012 Workshop, ICI Independent Curators International, New York
Selected Bibliography
2023 Guillermo Balbona, “El horizonte alternativo de Bubi Canal”
El Diario Montañes, October 29, 2023
2022 Guillermo Balbona, “El Santanderino Bubi Canal”
El Diario Montañes, August 4, 2022
Michelle Duncan, “Prime Space, Visibility, and Community”
Metropolis, July 28, 2022
Elissaveta M.Brandon, “You’re on top of the world”
Fast Company, June 29, 2022
Andres Senra, “Bubi Canal: Geometría, Color y Fábula”
Clavoardiendo, May 10, 2022
Liz Sales, “Playing through Portraiture”
LensCulture, March 7, 2022
Artist Feature - Bubi Canal “Into the Gloaming”
Der Greif, February 9, 2022
2021 Joanna Cresswell, “Introducing 1854's FastTrack winners: Bubi Canal”
British Journal of Photography, June 25, 2021
Marta Mantecon, “Este es el lugar del que te hablé”
Hop Magazine, June 2, 2021
Sema D’Acosta, “En un mundo que tiende a lo incorpóreo”
Fundació Foto Colectania, January 21, 2021
2019 Marc Feustel, “Bubi Canal's playful, constructed portraits”
British Journal of Photography, July 2, 2019
Ted Malawer, “The Escape”
T The New York Times Style Magazine, April 10, 2019
Guillermo Balbona, “El artista cántabro Bubi Canal”
El Diario Montañes, July 2, 2019
Jude Noel, “The Contemporary Arts Center”
City Beat, July 8, 2019
Kala Barba, “Quirky characters and twilight backdrops”
PLAIN Magazine, December 16, 2019
2018 Diane Pernet, “Hologram by Bubi Canal”
ASVOF, June 6, 2018
2017 What’s New?, “Bubi Canal”
Foam Magazine, August 15, 2017
Jessica Schezckenfuchs-Vallent, “Childhood Dreams”
Ooom Magazine, July 17, 2017
2016 Gumrah Sengün, “Karanlik Zamanlarin en Renkli Manifestosu”
Calling Magazine, October 25, 2016
Marcel Feil, “Dreamtime”
Foam Magazine, September 6, 2016
Charlotte Cotton, “Aperture Summer Open”
Aperture, July 13, 2016
Ana Belén, “Dreamtime - Bubi Canal”
Stitch, April 13, 2016
Fleur Pierets, “Bubi Canal Interview”
Et Alors? Magazine, March 28, 2016
2015 Kiriakos Spirou, “The Bright, Magical Universe of Bubi Canal”
Yatzer, October 25, 2015
Winter Mendelson, “Dive in to the magical realm of Bubi Canal”
Posture, July 6, 2015
Mada Martinez, “A Beautiful Mystery”
El Diario Montañes, February 20, 2015
Jorge Clar, “Bubi Canal”
Divo Magazine, February 2, 2015
Ajia Hunter, “Bubi Canal - Magic Garden”
The New York Photo Review, January 10, 2015
Alanna Martinez, “Welcome to Bubi Canal's World”
Observer, April 2, 2015
Beatriz López Miguel, “Bubi Canal @ Munch Galley”
NEO2, March 2, 2015
Nasta Voynovskaya, “Preview: Bubi Canal’s Magic Garden”
Hi-Fructose Magazine, February 27, 2015
Ramy Zabarah, “The Many Colors of Bubi Canal”
Quiet Lunch Magazine, February 11, 2015
2014 Belen Prieto, “Dreams, Magic and Love”
METAL Magazine, July 5, 2014
Simon Bainbridge, “Viva España”
British Journal of Photography, July 2, 2014
Carlo McCormick, “11 Books for Subculture Vultures”
Artnews, June 10, 2014
Carmen Quijano, “Bubi Canal ve publicado un libro sobre su obra”
El Mundo, July 1, 2014
2013 Kim Aran, “Bubi Canal”
Blink Magazine, August 9, 2013
Patricia Sainz, “Donde habita el arte”
L-ink Magazine, June 11, 2013
Katy MacLaughlin, “Spanish Artist Flock to the U.S.”
The Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2013
Jesse Dorris, “Bubi Canal Makes Art with Geometry”
Interior Design, February 13, 2013
Richard Kalisher, “On View Bubi Canal”
NY Centric Magazine, January 25, 2013
Sofia Dos Santos, “Special Moment de Bubi Canal”
NEO2, January 22, 2013
2012 Veronica Santi, “Bubi Canal”
Tunica Magazine, November 15, 2012
2011 Javier Díaz Guardiola, “Es vital que el pop sobreviva”
ABC, January 29, 2011
Luis Horcajo, “A House is Not a Home Colorful”
Tendencias, July 2, 2011
2010 Franco de Toledo, “Un mundo metafórico...”
21 Le Mag, July 16, 2010
Beatriz Ramos, “Rojo, verde, amarillo, azul, rojo, verde...”
PullTheMetal, February 10, 2010
Stephen Lucas, “La obra de Bubi Canal en La Fresh Gallery”
NEO2, January 4, 2010
Bubi Canal is a Spanish-American artist based in New York who works across photography, video art, and sculpture. His primary focus is on photography, which allows him to incorporate elements from other disciplines into his practice. He combines performance, fashion and sculpture to build his own world for the camera. This world is often inhabited by characters and still lifes he has created by blending everything from American pop culture to Spanish mythology to aspects of his own expansive imagination.
Working intuitively in response to his environment and personal experiences, his projects each reflect the current moment in his life, like a journal. While the characters are constructions, the models are friends and family. He styles them as dreamlike beings from alternate realities using handmade costumes and everyday materials from his environment. He combines continuous light and flash to create bold and graphic staged scenes that underscore his themes of hybrid mythology, identity, and personal history.
His aesthetic hovers between the real and fantastical, revealing his sense of wonder. His images are often created in natural locations from a bright palette of colorful costumes and geometrically shaped objects. These are made from playful materials and are often worn or held by his subjects. However, his subjects’ facial posture and expressions remain deliberate, as he allows them to communicate through their own spontaneous gestures. Ultimately, Canal’s work inspires us to create our own dream worlds where magical things could happen.
