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Cristina BanBan (b. 1987) is a Spanish-born painter currently living and working in Brooklyn, New York. She is known for her exaggerated portrayals of the female form which are configured into intimate compositions. BanBan is represented by Skarstedt Gallery and Galerie Perrotin.

Biography
BanBan was born in El Prat, Barcelona, in 1987. At the age of five, she began taking classes after school at a local art center, studying there for the next twelve years.

BanBan studied art at the University of Barcelona, Spain, earning her BFA in 2010. In 2012, she relocated to London. BanBan then moved to New York in 2020, where she continues to live and work.

Art
BanBan’s work is primarily figurative and made on a large scale, almost exclusively focusing on the female form. Her style is influenced by artists such as Willem de Kooning and Lucian Freud, and is fused with her personal memories and reflections on the present moment.

BanBan often utilizes her close friends and herself as models in her compositions, and her paintings explore human interactions, large emotions, and the nuances of relationships. Her work since 2020 has reflected on the human isolation brought on by the pandemic.

Oversized features, such as hands and eyes, are recurring motifs in her work. BanBan’s nudes occasionally feature small articles of clothing such as lingerie or hair clips.

Since 2020, BanBan has experimented with new techniques, specifically switching from acrylic to oil, which she says was born out of a desire to become reinvigorated by her approach to painting.

Selected Exhibitions
BanBan’s recent solo exhibitions have included:

Perrotin, Paris (2022)

Melancolía at Perrotin, Shanghai (2021)

Del Llanto at 1969 Gallery and Albertz Benda, New York (2021)

Changelings at Woaw Gallery, Hong Kong (2020)

Tigre y Paloma at 1969 Gallery, New York (2020)

I’ve Got Nothing to Lose at 68 Projects, Berlin (2019)

My Dear Demons at the Dot Project, London (2018)

BanBan has been included in group exhibitions, such as:

Present Generations at Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus (2021)

The Hort Family Collections, New York (2019)

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2017, Royal Academy of the Arts, London (2017)

Awards and Collections
BanBan was the recipient of a residency at Palazzo Monti, Brescia (2019) and The Arts Club Prize, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2017). Her work can be found in the permanent collections of Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; and the Pérez Art Museum, Miami.