TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary

Diego Delas

Diego Delas (born 1983, living and working in Málaga) is an architect, artist, and researcher whose practice explores the echoes of pre-modern culture through reconstruction, repetition, and reinterpretation. Drawing on vernacular architectural design, magical thinking, and narrative forms, his work reflects on the remnants of rural, domestic, and ritualistic ways of life—worlds where humans, animals, and the natural cycles of life and death once coexisted in harmony.

Trained in both Architecture and Fine Art in Madrid, Delas later moved to London, where he earned an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art and completed a PhD at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford. His studies were supported by several prestigious scholarships, including the AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership and the Botín Foundation scholarship.

Delas has been recognized with numerous awards and grants, such as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation selection, TBA21–Academy, the Cervezas Alhambra Award for Emerging Art, the Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize, the Generación Award, and the Montemadrid Foundation Award. His work has also been showcased internationally in solo and group exhibitions and is held in prominent collections including MUSAC (Castilla y León Museum of Contemporary Art), the Montemadrid Foundation, the DKV Collection, the Kells Collection, and the Cervezas Alhambra Collection.

Through a unique material language of textiles, installations, and paintings, Delas conjures a world where domestic rituals and magical symbols coexist. Inspired by childhood memories—such as wandering through dusty attics or observing his grandmother’s daily routines—his practice blurs the lines between architecture and storytelling, art and artifact. Using materials rooted in both construction and domestic labour, such as reclaimed fabrics and patchworks, he crafts contemporary talismans that channel the essence of lost worlds—part folklore, part archaeology, and wholly personal.

More about the artist and his artistic practice: https://diegodelas.com/

Related works in the collection

Diego Delas La madrépora, 2025

Diego Delas La lámpara del cuerpo, 2025

Diego Delas Burmese Amulets (Castillo bajo el polvo), 2024