José Díaz

José Díaz (Madrid, 1981) holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. In 2020, he was awarded with the Premio Arco Comunidad de Madrid. His work has been featured in recent years in exhibitions as part of institutional projects such as 24 años y 1 día, Casa Encendida, Madrid, 2025; En algún lugar. Paisaje contemporáneo, 20/21 espacio de arte, La Palma, 2025; Arte español: siglos XX–XXI. La evolución de un lenguaje visual contemporáneo, 20/21 espacio de arte, La Palma, 2023; Dialecto, Ca2M, Móstoles, 2021; Pintura: una renovación permanente, Museo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid, 2021; Encuentros #1. José Díaz / Ángeles Marco, Museo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid, 2019; Querer parecer noche, Ca2M, Móstoles, 2018; Generaciones, Casa Encendida, Madrid, 2018.

Díaz develops his artistic practice through painting, using it as a way to translate conceptual processes into a tangible, visible environment—a transmission of information marked by both distortion and construction. His research focuses on the re-interpretation of forms, treating linen as a surface for information and data.His practice revolves around the idea of the technological city and the individual’s urban experience—an experience shaped as much by the night and the unknown as by routine and daily orientation. Díaz’s work begins with the relationship between pictorial practice, the city as an ecosystem, and technological acceleration as a dominant paradigm. He is particularly interested in the city’s underground spaces—nightclubs, subways, and other lightless environments—which he connects to virtual experiences and realities developed in video games, as well as to schizoid organizational models drawn from science fiction, fantasy, and cyberpunk dystopias. His work highlights the importance of underground poetics as a source of light and escape—where escape is understood as a form of emancipatory power.