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
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
Bachelor’s degree
Solo exhibitions
2023
De verlating, Galerie Niffo, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2015
Transit, WORM, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2014
Sculpturesque Jokes, Galerie Mirta Demare, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2011
Habitaciones, Escuela de Arte Cruz Novillo, Cuenca, Spain
Trip Notebook, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2010
Zwart-wit, Pictura, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
2009
Galerie 23, Helmond, The Netherlands
2007
Flores, sustancias y atributos, Pictura, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
2006
Schilderijen en collages op papier, Pictura, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
2004
Floral wall hanging, Galerie de Aanschouw, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Bad Omens, Gorodstoi Muzei Chatsnykh Kolleksii, Odessa, Ukraine
2002
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Fundación Antonio Pérez, Cuenca, Spain
2001
New photo collages, Stichting Kunst & Complex, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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, France
1990
Apocalipsis in Figuris, Facultad de Bellas Artes, Cuenca, Spain
Group shows
2022
Presente continuo, Galería Fúcares, Almagro, Spain
2021
Variaciones sobre el Bodegón del cardo, Galería Fúcares, Almagro, Spain
Traveled to Museo Zabaleta, Quesada, Spain
2020
Art Blaak House, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2018
Nadie vive de hacer dibujitos, Galerie Niffo, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2016
The Essence of Things, Galerie Mirta Demare, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
China Girl, Galerie Mirta Demare, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2015
Kulter, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2014
Art fair the Hague, Stand Galerie Mirta Demare, The Hague, The Netherlands
2013
New Diaspora, Retort Art Space, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2012
Celebration !!, Galerie Mirta Demare, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Available, Kulter, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
De Salon, Pictura, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Off-Screen, De Unie, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2010
De Salon, Pictura, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
2009
De Salon, Pictura, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
2008
De Salon, Pictura, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Independent drawing gig 4, The Hague, The Netherlands
Hoogte bereiken, Cucosa, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2007
Cuenca, otra mirada, Convento de Santa Inés, Seville, Spain
Zuilen in de bagger, Locus010, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2006
Os ossos também têm fome, Livraría Miguel de Carvalho, Coimbra, Portugal
Ayermañana, Facultad de Bellas Artes, Cuenca, Spain
2005
Lenguaje común, Galería Jamete, Cuenca, Spain
Combinatorias, Instituto Cervantes, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2003
Paper works, Galerie Mirta Demare, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Stichting het Wilde Weten, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2001
Dream_garden, Stadskantoor, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Café des artistes contemporain, Witte de With Festival, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1999
Situaciones, Facultad de Bellas Artes, Cuenca, Spain
Kunstvlaai 3, Westergasfabriek. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In gebruik, Galerie het Langehuis, Zwolle, The Netherlands
Interakcija, Galerija S.K.C., Belgrade, Serbia
1998
Narodni Musej, Sabac, Serbia
Grenzgänge, Meinblau, Berlin, Germany
The Original Painters, Stichting Ateliers ’93, Hengelo, The Netherlands
1996
Límites, Universitat Vella, Valencia, Spain
1995
Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Brussels, Belgium
1993
Galerie Beim Engel, Luxembourg
1992
Ian Wallace´s workshop, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain
Palais des Arts, Toulouse, France
Galerie Foch, Rodez, France
1991
Galeria Fúcares, Almagro, Spain
1990
II Muestra de Nuevos Creadores, Ateneo Mercantil, Valencia, Spain
Fita, Ortega, Martínez, Rubio, Galería Estampa, Madrid, Spain
Grants, Awards and Residences
2001
Residence: Stichting Kunst & Complex, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1997
Residence: Jalovik Art Colony, Jalovik, Serbia
1994-5
Residence: Le Quai-École d’Art & Design, Mulhouse, France
1994
Grant: Instituto de la Juventud, Valencia, Spain
1991
Residence: Stage Européen de Créativité Picturale, Moissac, France
1990
Award: II Muestra de nuevos creadores, Instituto de la Juventud, Valencia, Spain
Work in public collections
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Fundación Antonio Pérez, Cuenca, Spain
Museo de Obra Gráfica de San Clemente, Spain
Publications
2022
Ortega-Miranda, Patricia, Presente continuo,
Catalogue of the show at Galería Fúcares, Almagro, Spain
2014
Ortega-Miranda, Patricia, On Sculpturesque Jokes,
Catalogue of the show at Galerie Mirta Demare, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2013
Kooyman, Jonas, Tapas en fiesta: wat een hard leven,
Zie Oud Zuid Magazine, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2012
Catalogue of the Jalovik Art Colony 1978-2011, Jalovik, Serbia
Catalogue of the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2011
García Donate, Eva and Fita Botet, Vicente
Catalogue of the show Habitaciones, Cuenca, Spain
Montero, Mai, Vicente Fita presenta en Cuenca Habitaciones,
El día de Cuenca, Cuenca, Spain
van Haarst, Sannetje, Vicente Fita Botet @ Rechtsachter CBK,
Trendbeheer, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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, The Netherlands
Wernke, Vincent, Kunstenaars bezetten ruimte van het Rotterdams Stadhuis,
Maasstad, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1995
Tenret, Yves, Zapping, Le Quai, Mulhouse, France
1990
Brea, José Luis, Apocalipsis sin figuras,
Catalogue of the show Fita, Ortega, Martínez, Rubio, Galería Estampa, Madrid, Spain
De Castro, María Antonia, Enfoques de arte, El País, Madrid, Spain
García, Manuel, Nuevos Valores, Levante, Valencia, Spain
García Donate, Eva, Atlas y dados, Catalogue of II Muestra de Nuevos Creadores, Valencia, Spain