Robert Nava

Within its exhibition programme devoted to the collection of Blanca and Borja Thyssen-Bornemisza, the museum is presenting a retrospective of the work of the American artist Robert Nava (born 1985). Curated by Guillermo Solana, this will be the first solo museum exhibition on the artist. It features 17 large-format works created between 2019 and 2024, among them Castle Back Flyer (2021) and Red River Storm (2023), both from this collection.

Consciously avoiding academic norms, Robert Nava has evolved a markedly individual style related to “bad painting”, a term used to define works which challenge good taste. Influenced by Prehistoric and Egyptian art, Pre-Columbian culture, cartoons and the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Cy Twombly, Nava aims to create a new mythology that reflects the present day, comprising hybrid creatures and zoomorphic monsters located in scenes that involve an element of violence.