Albano Hernández: From Within

Albano Hernandez’s first solo exhibition in Istanbul, From Within, opens up a field of inquiry into the boundaries of painting, the transformation of materials and the concept of value. Through works made using studio waste and repurposed materials, Hernandez questions the possibilities of painting while exploring the relationships between material and perception. Bringing together craftsmanship and industrial production processes, the artist focuses on the transformation of materials and the value they acquire throughout this process. Approaching each work as part of a broader artistic practice developed over the course of his career, Hernandez also incorporates the production processes and materials of the industrialized society in which he grew up. By relating the value of contemporary painting to the artist’s physical presence and labour, he questions how value is assigned to a work of art. The artist describes his recent works and artistic process as follows:

“When I started this series of paintings, my initial idea was to cover a canvas with a single brushstroke. By eliminating the other elements of painting and focusing on the brushstroke, perception comes to the forefront. I establish a relationship with matter similar to the relationship capitalism has with bodies and flesh; I transform the perception of matter from its outer surface towards the inside, from the surface towards its essence. In my practice, beauty functions as an alluring element that captures the viewer’s attention. However, I approach beauty with caution, as it can lead us to consume without questioning the labour, waste and ecological impact behind production. Breaking down and fragmenting materials allows me to establish a cyclical production process in my studio. I reuse discarded materials from everyday life, such as plastic, clay and aluminium,

incorporating them into my practice. I create brushstrokes from air-drying clay and, before they are completely dry, mechanically slice them into fragments using an electric food slicer. In doing so, I question the distinction between materials that society regards as waste and objects to which it attributes the value of an artwork. I enjoy disrupting the perceived sanctity and purity of painting.

The exhibition also features a dedicated section bringing together paintings from Hernandez’s ongoing project, The Shadow. During his two-week residence in Istanbul, the artist is currently realisings a new iteration of the project at Tophane Pavilion (Tophane Kasrı), bringing the work into dialogue with the site and its surroundings. First presented as part of Frieze Sculpture in 2024, followed by

presentations at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London and Gwangjucheon in South Korea in 2025, the project takes the form of a temporary painting created by transferring the silhouette of an actual tree onto grass using non-toxic, water-based paint. Continuously transformed by weather conditions, the growth of the

grass, changing light and the movements of people and animals in its surroundings, The Shadow questions conventional assumptions about the permanence of painting through its relationship with nature and the environment in which it exists. An artwork that can exist without leaving a lasting trace, it approaches impermanence as both a mode of production and a space for experience.

Albano Hernandez

Born in Ávila, Spain, in 1988, the artist lives and works in Cambridge, UK. He completed his MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London, in 2022. He holds a BA in Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). During his studies at the RCA, he received the Basil H. Alkazzi Scholarship and was awarded the 2022 Hine Painting Prize. He received the BMW Painting Prize in 2012 and the Obra Abierta Award in 2015. His recent solo exhibitions have been presented at the Salvador Victoria Museum in Spain, the Collège d’Espagne in France, Fundación Iturria in Uruguay and the University of Cambridge in the UK.