Ruben Sánchez

Rubén Sánchez also known as Zoonchez is a Spanish artist known for creating colorful compositions in his works, mostly with elements in balance. He has made sculptures and large-scale public murals works in Canada, UAE, France, Jordan, Germany, Turkey, Hungary, Sweden and the United States.

Early life Sánchez was born in Madrid in 1979. He developed an interest in graffiti at the age of 13. He later quit school and started working day jobs. Feeling tired of these jobs, he took interest in learning graphic design. In the 2000s, he moved to Barcelona and worked in different graphic design agencies. During this time period, he started creating his first artworks on reclaimed materials and created his first signature characters in the streets.

Career Sánchez began his artistic career at street level, where he mostly painted graffiti. Later he began drawing illustrations and mixed illustration with his original graffiti skills. He made several of these artworks in streets and public places as well as on different mediums such canvases, wood and all type of recycled materials.

In 2012, Sánchez began his one-year art residency program at Tashkeel in Dubai established by Lateefa bint Maktoum. During this time, he created a vast number of artworks and painted the first public outdoor mural in the country (non-commercial). This residency helped him become a full-time artist.

In 2019, he designed the brand identity of the UEFA Champions League Finals in Madrid.

Sánchez has also conducted several humanitarian projects throughout his career. Between 2014 and 2016, he created several murals in refugee camps in Zaatari (Jordan) and Lesbos (Greece). In collaboration with AptART, he conducted different projects to highlight the views of children from Syria and Jordan regarding their homes, after a civil war in Syria made people leave their homes and reside in refugee camps. Later on, he created in Russeifa (Jordan) a mural, Pushing Boundaries to highlight women rights and other gender issues.

Style and influences

Sánchez's work is characterized by vibrant color palettes, asymmetry and lack of perfect proportions. He tends to convey certain messages and concerns through his art where the viewer is challenged to depict. In a major mural project, Sanchez used tribal art in surrealism style rendered in Mediterranean colors and presented "a woman oppressed by the walls of her house trying to take down the walls and metaphorically opening herself to the world."

Sánchez's canvases, murals, ceramics, and large public sculptures depict a strong Mediterranean influence. He cites "Joan Miró, Le Corbusier or Henri Matisse or Pablo Picasso, or Juan Gris" as his main influences. His recent artworks exhibit a variety of themes, including connectivity, human imperfection, balances and imbalances.

Selected exhibitions 2022 – Urban Break, Volery Gallery, Seoul 2022 – LA Art Fair, Moberg Booth, Los Angeles 2022 – Embodiment, Heron Arts, San Francisco 2022 – Contemporary Abstraction, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa 2022 – Panorama, Cohle Gallery, Menorca 2021 – Emoción, Galería Ola, Barcelona 2020 – Recién Pintado, Centro Cultural El Carm, Badalona 2020 – Beyond the Walls, Cohle Gallery, Paris 2020 – SWAY, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa 2019 – In Bloom, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa 2019 – New Start, Happy Gallery, Paris 2018 – 10 Years Later, Tashkeel, Dubai 2017 – Refuge in Paint, NAMLA, Miami 2016 – Connectivity, Tashkeel, Dubai 2016 – The Lucid Dream, Installation, Dubai Design District, Dubai 2015 – Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul 2015 – Fisticuffs, Dubai 2015 – It's Summertime!, London 2014 – Colors of Resilience, Amman 2014 – Art Dubai, Dubai 2014, 2015 – Made in Tashkeel, Dubai (UAE) 2013 – Sikka Art Fair, Dubai 2013 – The B Side, Solo Show, Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai 2012 – Reskate Exhibition, Bright Tradeshow, Berlin 2012–2013 – Gráfika, 30 Artists from a young Spain. World Tour 2012 – Vias Subversivas, Mallorca 2011 – Proyecto Haiti, Barcelona 2009 – Painting Alive, Apetit Gallery. Bilbao 2009 – Simbiosis, Espacio Espora, Madrid 2008 – Wood Pushers, Hecklewood Gallery, Portland 2006 – Hey Ho Let's Go, Barcelona