Joan Priego

Yoga Figure in Tree Pose, Hand-Carved Cypress Wood Sculpture, Original

2026

Joan Priego (Barcelona, 1969) is a Spanish sculptor whose work explores the fragile and fragmented nature of human identity through figurative sculpture carved primarily from reclaimed wood. Trained in sculpture and holding a degree in Philosophy, he approaches the human figure as a living archive where memory, vulnerability and personal history remain visibly embedded in the material itself.

Working mainly with salvaged pine recovered from demolished buildings and urban waste, Priego transforms discarded timber into singular sculptures that preserve cracks, knots and traces of previous lives. Rather than concealing these imperfections, he integrates them into each work, allowing the material's own history to become inseparable from the psychological presence of the figure. Delicate polychromy, wax and natural finishes reinforce this dialogue between matter and memory.

His sculptures frequently occupy a space between the sacred and the everyday, combining an expressive direct carving technique with subtle irony and existential reflection. Themes such as duality, resilience, incompleteness and the possibility of renewal recur throughout a practice that understands sculpture as an act of reconstruction—both physical and symbolic.

Priego has presented solo and group exhibitions throughout Spain and internationally, including Germany, France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark. His work is held in the collection of the Fundació Vila Casas in Barcelona, and has received several distinctions, including the Fondation Charles Oulmont Prize (Paris) and the Arte Laguna International Art Prize Special Award (Italy).