About Victor Goikoetxea

Victor Goikoetxea

The constant need to expand knowledge and experiment is one of the vital and creative driving forces of Víctor Goikoetxea (Urretxu, 1965). It is, in fact, what allows him to make the leap into decorative painting after starting out professionally in a non-artistic capacity. Fascinated by the possibilities of the medium, he initially decides to develop his skills by taking courses in the imitation of various materials, such as marble and wood. He attends the workshop of María García Frías and Natalia Lafita (Madrid, 1990) and classes in Decorative Painting at the Polixromia studio (Marbella, 1992) and at Miriam's Studio (London, 1994). This foundation encourages him to pursue greater specialisation in the field, leading him to enrol at two prestigious centres in Paris: Institut Supérieur de Peinture Décorative IPEDEC (1996) and Institut Guégan École de Peinture Décorative et de Trompe-l'oeil (1999). He graduates from both institutions, winning prizes (second and first place respectively) that distinguish him among his cohorts. He subsequently undertakes advanced studies in mural painting at the same Parisian schools (2004 and 2005), as well as a course in descriptive geometry in Pignano (Italy).

His perception of his profession as an activity requiring continuous updating and revitalisation of knowledge has led him to continue learning even when he had already established a solid reputation in his field. In this spirit, he participates in Methods of the Masters in Porto (2011), a course taught by Martinho Correia, professor at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, before completing a master's degree in academic drawing at that renowned Italian institution two years later.

His mastery of decorative work, which takes him to work for periods in France (where he works for the Paris Opera and various haute couture houses) and in other European countries, positions him as one of the leading restorers of historic and emblematic buildings and spaces. In Spain, notable projects include the Casa Consistorial of San Sebastián, the Plenary Hall of the Donostia City Hall, and the PNV headquarters in San Sebastián and Hernani.

 

Without abandoning decorative or mural commissions, which allow him to give free rein to his most ambitious proposals (some of which exceed 200 square metres), he has for years been developing his work on multiple fronts. He has collaborated with interior designers and architects in the transformation of private spaces (high-end private residences, restaurants, boutiques...) and has undertaken major public and monumental works, among which stand out the statue of tennis player David Ferrer in Jávea (2019) and the monument to General Manuel de Montiano (2022).

Also noteworthy are his intervention at the so-called Dior Boutique in Jalisco (Mexico), the Hotel Maison Marineta in Dénia, and one of his most visited creations, MiramArt, which completely transformed the tunnel connecting the two most famous beaches of the Basque capital (Ondarreta and La Concha) through a vivid recreation of the seabed, and which is walked through by millions of people every year.

The particular nature of his art, specialised for much of his career in mural painting and large format, has prevented him from fully developing an exhibiting side, to which, however, he has recently decided to give fresh impetus. Since the previous decade he has favoured the production of easel work, which has followed two parallel directions. On one hand, he has explored the development of figurative realist painting in which to put into practice his formidable talents for spatial conception, and which in some ways constitutes a transposition of many of his mural experiences onto canvas. In it, inter alia, he has addressed interiors and some of the most distinctive spaces of the cities he knows best: those of San Sebastián and those of Jávea, his other vital and artistic point of reference. On the other hand, in parallel with his most recent mural works, he has begun to explore a path of synthesis of his artistic trajectory that currently deeply engages him: material abstraction.

His solo career has intensified following a subsequent show at the Vetus Art gallery in Donostia/San Sebastián, which under the title From Figuration to Matter (2017) brings together figurative pieces with innovative and evocative abstractions. As early as the previous year, in the context of the European Capital of Culture Donostia 2016, he takes part in the group show 16 Gipuzkoan Artists at the same gallery, through which he also participates in the Scope Art Fair in Basel and at the Galleria Pisacane Arte in Milan (both in 2018). In recent years he has organised new solo shows, including one inaugurating the Basque Luxury Studio (2019), Public Art (2019) at the Casa del Cable in Jávea, and, most recently, Matter in Motion, at the Recoleto gallery in the same Alicante town (2022).

Education

  • Workshop of María García Frías and Natalia Lafita, Madrid (1990)
  • Decorative Painting, Polixromia studio, Marbella (1992)
  • Miriam's Studio, London (1994)
  • Institut Supérieur de Peinture Décorative IPEDEC, Paris (1996) — 2nd Prize
  • Institut Guégan École de Peinture Décorative et de Trompe-l'oeil, Paris (1999) — 1st Prize
  • Panoramic painting course, IPEDEC, Paris (2002)
  • Descriptive geometry applied to mural painting course, Piñano, Italy (2003)
  • Composition and harmony course, Institut Guégan, Quimiac, France (2004)
  • Advanced mural painting course, IPEDEC, Paris (2005)
  • Realistic mural painting specialisation, Estudios Sarina, Tuscany (2007)
  • Realistic mural painting specialisation, Castillo de Falset, Priorat (2008, 2009)
  • Methods of the Masters, Porto (2011)
  • Trompe l'oeil and panoramic mural painting course, Morocco (2011)
  • Master's in academic drawing, Angel Academy, Florence

Exhibitions

  • Sala de Cultura de Hernani — various exhibitions (2000–2004)
  • Construmat Fair, Barcelona (2005–2009)
  • Basque Country Craft Fair, Rentería — 50th anniversary invitation (2006)
  • International Mural Painting Salon Forever, Utrecht, Netherlands — sole national representative (2006)
  • Hernani Town Hall (2007)
  • Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel (2007)
  • International group exhibition, Chicago, USA (2008)
  • International group exhibition, Versailles, France (2010)
  • Santurze en la memoria, Oceanographic Museum of San Sebastián (2010)
  • From Figuration to Matter, Vetus Art Gallery, Donostia (2017)
  • Scope Art Fair, Basel (2018)
  • Galleria Pisacane Arte, Milan (2018)
  • Basque Luxury Studio, San Sebastián (2019)
  • Public Art / Casa del Cable, Jávea (2019)
  • Matter in Motion, Recoleto Gallery, Jávea (2022)