Miquel Navarro

Life and career

Navarro was born in Mislata, Valencia, on 29 September 1945. From 1964 to 1968 he studied painting at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia. In 1972 he decided to abandon painting and concentrate on sculpture. However, he continued to paint. He also wrote poetry.

In 1973, Navarro showed his first "Ciutat", one of his main sculptural manifestations. He mainly used fireproof materials along with terracotta and sand. Between 1975 and 1980 he exhibited his main works, such as "Pirámide" or "Els altres 75 anys de pintura valenciana" in many expositions in Valencia (Valencia Architects School) and Madrid (Vandres Gallery and Ponce Gallery).

In 1980, Navarro's sculptures were exhibited at the 21st International Sculpture Conference in Washington, DC and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Over the next few years, Navarro created "Estructura urbana" (1983), "Des terrar" (1985–1986) and "Minerva Paranoica" (1989), a monumental sculpture. Many of these new sculptures contained iron.

In later years, Navarro exhibited in Bilbao (Galeria Colon XVI 2005) and Valencia (Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) in 2009). His sculptures included "Ciudad Roja" (1994), "Casco Urbano" (1999) and "L'Almassil" (2010).

Navarro died on 1 November 2026, at the age of 81.

His work

Navarro borrowed from many styles, ranging from Baroque to Postmodernism and Minimalism. One of his main contributions is the "Ciutat (city)". Navarro said:

"La ciudad es como un cuerpo y tiene discursos de las arterias, el elemento horizontal, en el caso de los elementos verticales están los muros, las torres."(following)"El cuerpo humano no utiliza arterias, venas, fluidos, corazón, centro, casco. Cuando tú defines una ciudad estás definiendo un cuerpo".

Some of Navarro's works are part of the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Awards

Spanish National Award for Plastic Arts, 1986

Alfons Roig Award (Valencia's Council), 1987

C.E.O.E Arts Award, 1990

National AECA Award, 1995

Valencians for the 21st century Award, 2001

Generalitat Valenciana Distinction for the Cultural Merit, 2002

Plastic Arts Awards" Valencianos del Mundo " (Given by Generalidad Valenciana and el Mundo newspaper)

International Julio Gonzalez Award, 2008

Man of the Year, Hortanoticias, 2009

Academician of the Real Academia de BBAA de San Fernando, 2011

Street works

Fuente Pública Valencia, 1986

Torreta (Fuente Publica) Turis (Valencia), 1989

Fanalet (Farola) Quart de Poblet (Valencia), 1989

Minerva Paranoica (Escultura) Castellón, 1989

Ars Longa Vita Brevis (Universidad Autonoma ) Barcelona, 1990

Torre del Sonido (Escultura Universidad Carlos III) Getafe (Madrid), 1992

Fraternitat (Escultura) Barcelona, 1992

Mástiles (Hotel Valencia-Palace) Valencia, 1994

Boca de Luna (Fuente Pública) Brussels, 1996

Centinela (Hotel San Roque) Garachico (Tenerife), 1999

Home Guaita (Escultura) Valencia, 1999

Saltamontes Libando (Fuente Pública) Castellón, 1999

Casco Industrial (Escultura) Bilbao, 1999

Andarin (Escultura) Gijon (Asturias), 2000

Oteando (Escultura) Torrelavega (Cantabria), 2000

Vigía (Escultura) Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 2001

Cabeza con Luna Menguante Mislata (Valencia), 2002

La Mirada (Escultura) Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2002

Palera (Escultura) Málaga, 2003

Palas Fundición (Escultura) Ceuti (Murcia), 2003

El Parotet Valencia, 2006

Conexión (Museo Bellas Artes- Bilbao), 2007

Mantis (Murcia), 2008

Válvula con alberca (Expo Zaragoza), 2008