JOSÉ LÓPEZ MARCOS, BIOGRAPHY

“I was born in Spain in 1968, but immediately after that my parents moved to Switzerland, where I spent part of my childhood. Since then, I have no stop to move my home and my studio throughout the world. Because of that I have always thought that having lived in di erent countries and continents has given me the opportunity to experience very distinct cultures which have highly infuenced my ability as an artist.” According to my parents, at the tender age of three, they caught me decorating their bedroom walls with a lot of drawings, it was a spectacular beginning as an artist and also my first large scale work. Unfortunately, our landlord did not agree and my parents had to paint over all of my drawings, maybe I was too ambitious… or not. Since then, I have not stopped developing my talent as an artist. I have never taken any formal training in art because I have never needed it. I was so lucky to develop my skills as an artist along with some great artists and craftsmen around the world. Having said that. As an artist I have a simple and effective rule of thumb “If you want to become a great master, you have to create a lot works, as much as you can and even when you are tired of doing it, do not stop creating.” I am not a great master yet, but every day I am closer to achieving it. As a Western artist I am the heir to a rich cultural tradition. Although this is a great value it was not enough to me. Because of that, nearly twenty years ago, I felt an irresistible need to know further about other ceramic movements all over the world. That feeling drove myself to live and travel throughout South Asia. It was just at that time when the ancient ceramic art tradition developed in the Far Easter, caught all my being. I took advantage of that exciting time to learn deeply about those ancestral ceramic techniques. After living and working in South Asia, I was very lucky of meeting Professor Alberto Diaz de Cossio, one of the most important Master Ceramicist in Latin America. Time later, I moved my home-studio to Mexico to learn those great pre Columbian ceramic arts. Along with Professor Alberto Diaz de Cossio in his experimental ceramic workshop, I learned every single ceramic technique from traditional handcrafting techniques to clay chemistry. Living in Mexico, I was a pleasure to meet Mrs. Helen Carey, Director of Fire Station Artists' Studios, Dublin Ireland. At that time, I was very interesting about a kind of porcelain developed in England known as bone China, or bone ash based porcelain. Time later, Dublin council government invited me to research about bone China in an one-year artist´s residence, base in the Dublin Fire Station Artist’s Studios. That was an exciting time researching about bone China, sharing my experience with hundreds of artists from different artistic fields, and countries around the world. 1 Talents Contemporains competition 2025, François Schneider Foundation, Artist: José López Marcos After one year researching in Dublin, I got a very kind invitation from Madrid council government for a researching grant to finish my work about porcelain. After moving to Madrid, in 2020 my wife and I settled in Manzanares el Real, a small village based in Madrid country side. At that awe-inspiring place, I built my new ceramic atelier and home, where I live today. From this place, I still travel throughout the world, sharing my artwork worldwide. LATEST EXHIBITIONS, I was so lucky to be invited to show my artwork throughout Asia, Oceania, America and Europe. After taking a time for reflecting over my new artwork about water and porcelain, these are the latest shows I have participated. 2020, September, Galeria Javier Roman Malaga, SPAIN, Artwork title: Gems of glaciers. 2020, Sept-October, Modern & Contemporary Art Show Marbella, SPAIN, GALERIA JAVIER ROMAN, Artwork title: Gems of glaciers. 2020, October-November, Contemporary art ruhr (C.A.R.), GERMANY, GALERIA JAVIER ROMAN, Artwork title: Gems of glaciers. 2022, April, Real Ateneo de Sevilla, SPAIN, Artwork title: EL NUEVO CREADOR DEL ARTE CERÁMICO, la visión de un artista español del siglo XXI. 2025, December, INTERNATIONAL PRIZE Fondazione Ceramica Montelupo, ITALY, Artwork title: Icy porcelain, piece #1. ART EXPERTS SAID ABOUT MY ARTWORK, Helen Carey, Director, Fire Station Artists' Studios, Dublin IRELAND MA in Visual Arts Practices "It is amazing work, so extraordinary and clearly a fine balance of Jose Lopez Marcos owns research and what the material is capable of. It’s very Jose Lopez Marcos artwork and very lovely. Very lovely indeed. It is quite an achievement to capture Antarctica in a material present way and yet have it remains so mysterious and elusive... " Prof. Alberto Diaz de Cossio, The National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City MEXICO BFA in Applied Arts "It is a great porcelain collection, as a result of a long hard work. I really love the porcelain artwork that Jose Lopez has created. It is amazing how Lopez Marcos work with cobalt- blue to reach those shapes. I like the whole artwork, from the main idea to the handcrafted ceramic work... " Dr. Julio César Abad Vidal, Curator, PhD in Philosophy – Area of Aesthetics and Theory of the Arts –, MA in Art History and East Asian Studies. “Jose Lopez porcelain artworks achieve that great aim to express mystery and majesty of glaciers. These outstanding ceramic sculptures are because of an expert mastery of materials and ceramic techniques, all of 2 Talents Contemporains competition 2025, François Schneider Foundation, Artist: José López Marcos which he learned in the Far East. His creations drive the viewer’s mind to an intimate meeting with the sublime: a natural grandeur before which human being feels the beauty and transience of the world...”