BIOGRAPHY
Vicente Fita Botet was born in Cuenca, Spain, in 1964. From an early age, he exhibited a profound passion for drawing and painting, coupled with a strong fascination for art history. During his youth, he had his first encounter with contemporary art when he visited the Spanish Museum of Abstract Art in his hometown, which existed outside the official cultural policies of a country that would take years to transition to a democratic regime.
From 1987 to 1991, he pursued his artistic education at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca.
His earliest exhibitions, commencing in 1990, featured a series of repetitive paintings where he meticulously reproduced fragments from vintage engravings, maps, or created monochromatic paintings, which he presented as immersive installations.
In 1994, during a residency in Mulhouse, he started making films by layering rhythmic phrases of autobiographical narratives over silent amateur film sequences.
In 1996, he relocated to The Netherlands and completed his postgraduate studies at the Dutch Art Institute in Enschede in 1998. This phase marked a period of exploration, with a focus on installation, video art, and collage, emphasizing the documentation of the inexorable passage of time.
Since 2001, he has been based in Rotterdam. Initially, he crafted collages using photo fragments that resembled intricate mosaics. Later, he returned to painting, and in the ensuing years, his works incorporated layered, appropriated images, creating a visually rich tapestry of random associations on the canvas.
In 2011, he produced his first “road-movie” composed of photographs taken during his journey from his hometown to Rotterdam. Subsequently, he made time-lapse videos that portrayed fragments of his daily life and surroundings, akin to the pages of a personal diary.
His approach to painting evolved towards photorealism in 2014. He began copying photographs of neoclassical sculptures and added text balloons featuring absurd jokes, as if the figures themselves were engaged in conversation.
In his current artistic practice, Vicente Fita Botet’s works encompass both paintings and films that originate from photography. These artworks explore themes such as still life, self-portraiture, and abandoned objects, offering a profound reflection on the transience of life.
CV
Vicente Fita Botet
Cuenca, Spain, 1964
Currently living and working in Rotterdam
Education
1996-1998
Dutch Art Institute, Enschede, The Netherlands
Master of Fine Arts
1986-1991
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Faculty of Fine Arts, Cuenca, Spain
Solo exhibitions
2024 “El abandono”. Galería Fúcares. Almagro
2023 “De verlating”. Niffo Galerie. Rotterdam
2015 “Transit”. WORM. Rotterdam
2014 “Sculpturesque Jokes”. Galerie Mirta Demare. Rotterdam
2011 “Habitaciones”. Escuela de Arte Cruz Novillo. Cuenca
“Trip Notebook”. Centrum Beeldende Kunst. Rotterdam
2010 “Zwart-wit”. Pictura. Dordrecht
2009 Galerie 23. Helmond (The Netherlands)
2007 “Flores, sustancias y atributos”. Pictura. Dordrecht
2006 “Schilderijen en collages op papier”. Pictura. Dordrecht
2004 “Floral wall hanging”. Galerie de Aanschouw.Rotterdam
“Bad Omens”.Gorodstoi Muzei,Chatsnykh Kolleksii. Odessa (Ukraine)
2002 “O.T.”. Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Fundación
Antonio Pérez. Cuenca (Spain)
2001 “New photo collages”. Stichting Kunst & Complex. Rotterdam
2000 “After time”. Stichting Ateliers ’93. Hengelo (The Netherlands)
1999 “Looking to the future”. Vrijhof. Universiteit Twente.
Enschede (The Netherlands)
1995 “Travaux récents”. Galerie du Quai. Mulhouse
1990 “Apocalipsis in Figuris”. Facultad de Bellas Artes. Cuenca
Projects and group shows
2022 “Variaciones sobre el bodegón de El cardo”. Museo Zabaleta. Quesada (Spain)
2022 “Presente Continuo”. Galería Fúcares. Almagro
2021 “Variaciones sobre el bodegón de El cardo”. Galería Fúcares. Almagro
2020 Art Blaak House, group show, Rotterdam
2018 “Nadie vive de hacer dibujitos”. Niffo Galerie. Rotterdam
2016 “The Essence of Things”. Galerie Mirta Demare. Rotterdam
“China Girl”. Galerie Mirta Demare. Rotterdam
2015 Kulter. Amsterdam
2014 Art Fair The Hague. Stand Galerie Mirta Demare. The Hague
2013 “New Diaspora”. Retort Art Space. Amsterdam
2012 “Celebration!!”. Galerie Mirta Demare. Rotterdam
“Available”. Kulter. Amsterdam
“De Salon”. Pictura. Dordrecht
“Off-Screen”. De Unie. Rotterdam
the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam
2011 “Het topje van de Boszoom”. Kunstroute Kralingen-Crooswijk
2010 “De Salon”. Pictura. Dordrecht
2009 “De Salon”. Pictura. Dordrecht
2008 “De Salon”. Pictura. Dordrecht
“Independent drawing gig 4”. The Hague
“Hoogte bereiken”. Cucosa. Rotterdam
2007 “Cuenca, otra mirada”. Convento de Santa Inés. Seville
“Zuilen in de bagger II”. Locus010. Rotterdam
2006 “Os ossos também têm fome”. Livraría Miguel de Carvalho. Coimbra
“Ayermañana”. Facultad de Bellas Artes. Cuenca
2005 “Lenguaje común”. Galería Jamete. Cuenca
“Combinatorias”. Instituto Cervantes. Utrecht
2003 “Paper works”. Galerie Mirta Demare. Rotterdam
Stichting het Wilde Weten. Rotterdam
2002 Galerie Zechs. The Hague
2001 “Dream_garden”. Stadskantoor. Rotterdam
“Café des artistes contemporain”. Witte de With Festival. Rotterdam
1999 “Situaciones”. Facultad de Bellas Artes. Cuenca
“Kunstvlaai 3”.Westergasfabriek. Amsterdam
“In gebruik”. Galerie het Langehuis. Zwolle(The Netherlands)
“Interakcija”. Galerija S.K.C. Belgrade
1998 Narodni Musej. Sabac (Serbia)
“Grenzgänge”. Meinblau. Berlin
“The Original Painters”. Stichting Ateliers ’93. Hengelo (The Netherlands)
1996 “Límites”. Universitat Vella. Valencia
1995 Spanish Chamber of Commerce. Brussels
1993 Galerie Beim Engel. Luxembourg
1992 Ian Wallace´s workshop. Círculo de Bellas Artes. Madrid
Palais des Arts. Toulouse (France)
Galerie Foch. Rodez (France)
1991 Galeria Fúcares. Almagro (Spain)
1990 “II Muestra de Nuevos Creadores”. Ateneo Mercantil. Valencia
“Fita, Ortega, Martínez, Rubio”. Galería Estampa. Madrid
Grants, Awards and Residences
2001 Residence: Stichting Kunst & Complex. Rotterdam
1997 Residence: “Jalovik Art Colony”. Jalovik (Serbia)
1994-
1995 Residence:“Le Quai-École d’Art & Design”. Mulhouse (France)
1994 Grant: Instituto de la Juventud. Valencia
1991 Residence: “Stage Européen de Créativité Picturale”. Moissac (France)
1990 Award: “II Muestra de nuevos creadores”
Instituto de la Juventud. Valencia
Work in public collections
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Fundación Antonio Pérez. Cuenca
Museo de Obra Gráfica de San Clemente (Spain)
Publications
2023 Dijksterhuis, Edo. De Aanschouw
2022 Ortega-Miranda, Patricia. “Presente Continuo”.
Catalogue of the show at Galería Fúcares. Almagro
2014 Ortega-Miranda, Patricia. “On Sculpturesque Jokes”.
Catalogue of the show at Galerie Mirta Demare. Rotterdam
2013 Kooyman, Jonas. “Tapas en fiesta: wat een hard leven”.
Zie Oud Zuid Magazine. Amsterdam
2012 Catalogue of the Jalovik Art Colony 1978-2011. Jalovik. Serbia
Catalogue of the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam
2011 García Donate, Eva and Fita Botet, Vicente.
Catalogue of the show “Habitaciones”. Cuenca
Montero, Mai. “Vicente Fita presenta en Cuenca Habitaciones”.
El día de Cuenca (Spain)
van Haarst, Sannetje. “Vicente Fita Botet @ Rechtsachter CBK Rotterdam”.
www.trendbeheer.com
2006 Lindenhovius, Liesbeth. “Uitgeknipte flarden van oude schilderijen”.
AD De Dordtenaar. Dordrecht (The Netherlands)
2005 Vila, C. “Una obra mágica y diferente de dos artistas europeos”.
El Día de Cuenca. Cuenca (Spain)
2001 Zijlmans, Canis. “Beeldend kunstenaars bezetten stadhuis”.
Rotterdams Dagblad. Rotterdam
Wernke, Vincent. “Kunstenaars bezetten ruimte van het Rotterdamse Stadhuis”. Maasstad.Rotterdam
1990 Brea, José Luis. “Apocalipsis sin figuras”. Catalogue of the show
“Fita, Ortega, Martínez, Rubio”. Galería Estampa. Madrid
De Castro, María Antonia. “Enfoques de arte”. El País. Madrid
García, Manuel. “Nuevos Valores”. Levante. Valencia
García Donate, Eva. “Atlas y dados”. Catalogue of the show
“II Muestra de Nuevos Creadores” Ateneo Mercantil. Valencia