The artist
About me
My name is Nacho Frades, I was born in 1967 in Madrid. I remember my childhood doing always some kind of art — drawing, building structures with wood colored pieces. I was very introvert. At the age of 10 I went to Museo del Prado and saw Goya's dog painted, and I wanted to replicate it with oils. But the most intense memory I have related to painting in those times was to see a portrait of El Greco on a piece of furniture, and realize it were only colors and strokes.
In 1980, when I was 13, I decided to be a painter — mentally, in the deepest of my heart. So I continued painting and drawing and started my formation. At this age I was rejected in a drawing contest because "a child can't draw so well." This was very frustrating in that moment, but in reality, with that sentence, I think I won the contest somehow.
In 1987, I was 20, something magical happened. I found a program called Deluxe Paint, I installed it and I saw a new world. It was very basic, but it allowed me to paint with light.
I could describe my work as Frozen Light. I want to paint questions — questions to the viewer. I want to paint light, color, atmosphere, temperature, time of the day, like little holograms of an instant of perfect perception. I put all my mind when painting; it's almost a deep meditation for me. I'm only painting, and there is no room for other thoughts.
I am very prolific. I have painted more than one thousand artworks, basically because I'm always working and I enjoy it. My works are in many private collections and Museums, like the MoCDA (Museum of Contemporary Digital Art) and MOCA (Museum of CryptoArt), and are present in many countries: United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Royal Caribbean Cruise ships, Spain, Austria, among others.
Formation
Awards
Exhibitions & Collections
Influences
Hockney, De Chirico, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Velázquez, Monet and Vincent Van Gogh — among others. But my main influence is myself: my childhood in a strange but awesome neighborhood, the streets, the light of the lampposts. All you can see in my works is an experience, a dream, a vision, a memory.