Carlos Peñalver

Carlos Peñalver is a Spanish artist, born in Alicante in 1988 and based in London. He has studied architecture in Alicante, Ljubljana, and Shanghai. More recently developing a career as a mural artist, with installations including London School of Economics and City Point, Carlos’s work is recognised for its characteristic and signature black and white organic line drawings. He works across a vast range of sizes, from paper-based pieces to huge murals, but he also works with short film animations, digital art and architectural visualisation. Carlos calls himself a performance artist, working from memory using continuous single strokes.

Many of Carlos’s works are free form and this is a deliberate and conscious decision on the part of the artist. Considering his drawings his space in which to make mistakes, Carlos experiments while he works, some times his larger works springing from his smaller pieces. Carlos speaks of his ‘big drawings made of many smaller ideas where all things I think of take place’.

Working across all forms and in an unconstrained way, Carlos considers likens his works to the annotation in the margins of a book. He brings to life characters and desires that spring to mind. Carlo’s pieces bear closer scrutiny as the artist tucks away secrets and memories within drawings for the viewer to explore and discover if they can.

As a result, Carlos’s work is inventive and has a psychological aspect to it. When delving into these pieces, the viewer may be able to find the twists and hints of criticism within. Carlos’s work is held to – sometimes – have a childish tone, but this is also mostly thought to be harmless.

What sets Carlos aside from other artists is that his works are so organic and come from a place of deep thought and memory that they are hard, even impossible, to replicate. Dynamic and changeable, Carlos’s work can be called both visceral and unpredictable at times.

Contest 

2014  ‘Temple 01’ Beijing Cityvision Competition, Beijing, China

Solo Exhibitions

2016  Solo Exhibition AMS, Shanghai, China

2016  Solo Exhibition ‘One Earth’, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Group Exhibition

2021  ‘Best For You’ mural at Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

Private commissions 

2023  mural at Renaissance Foundation, Crypt of St Botolph’s, London, UK

2023  mural at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London, UK

2022  mural in the basement of  Dorrington, Hatton Garden, London, UK

2022  mural at Rooftop at the Dorrington, Hatton Garden, London, UK

2022  Installation at Inhabit Hotel, Queens Gardens, Paddington, London, UK

2021  Installation at Hilton Headquarters, London, UK

2021  mural at Office Hub AMP Capital, Berkeley Square, London, UK

2020  mural at Entrance Hall Brookfield Properties, Citypoint, London, UK

2020  vinyl installation mural at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London, UK

2019  mural at Auditorium of London School of Economics, by architect Richard Rogers, London, UK

2019  installation mural at 1 Westfield Avenue by architect Richard Rogers, London, UK

2018  mural for Cornerstone Hackney by chef Tom Brown, London, UK

2018  mural for Taiyakiya, Chinatown, London, UK

Others 

2020  Artist residency at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London, UK

2019  AE in Architecture Lecture at Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

2016  Artist residency Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2014  Master’s Degree in Architecture, Alicante, Spain