b. 1938 Manila, Philippines / d. 2020 Manila, Philippines
David Medalla lived an eventful life between London, Paris, New York, Marseille, Manila and Berlin, and over the course of seven decades he created a multifaceted body of work, including drawings, paintings, collages, sculptures, neon works, kinetic art, performances and participatory art.
The artist’s prominent exhibitions include White on White, 1966 and When Attitudes Become Form, 1969, both curated by Harald Szeemann at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland; documenta 5 (Individual Mythologies), 1972, Kassel; and Bonner Kunstverein / Museion Bozen, 2022 (Parables of Friendship, curated by Fatima Hellberg and David Cairns). Medalla has participated in the 57th Venice Biennale (2017, curated by Christine Macel), the 14th Lyon Biennale (2017, curated by Emma Lavigne), the 8th Asian Pacific Triennial, Brisbane, AU (2015), the 9th Mercosul Biennial, Porto Alegre (2013), the 16th Sydney Biennial, AU (2008, curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev), Performa 07, New York, US (2007), and the 2nd Johannesburg Biennial (1998).
Other notable exhibitions featuring David Medalla’s work were held at institutions such as Tate Modern, London (2016); Jewish Museum, New York (2014); Tate Liverpool (2013/2014); TRAFO, Szczecin, PL (2013); When Attitudes Become Form: Bern 1969/Venice 2013, curated by Germano Celant, Fondazione Prada, Venice (2013); Jeu de Paume, Paris, France (2013); Migrations, Tate Britain, London (2012).
Works by David Medalla are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, M+ Museum in Hong Kong, National Gallery Singapore, National Museum of the Philippines, Ateneo Art Gallery in Manila, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, Inhotim, Minas Gerais in Brazil, Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, Auckland Art Gallery, among others.
Gallery exhibitions and fairs
2025 David Medalla Luftbrücke (upcoming for Gallery Weekend Berlin)
2024 Mountains @ Basel Social Club
2023 Unputdownable
Further recent and current exhibitions
2025 Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, curated by Aram Moshayedi (solo)
2025 Julia Stoschek Foundation, Berlin, curated by Lisa Long (group)
2024 Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, Aram Moshayedi (solo)
Selected works
Coconut Nectar / Gatang Niyog (Luz. Vi. Minda series, no. 1), 1986 · Oil on canvas · 181,5 × 155 × 3 cm
Young Man Who Has Caught a Fish / Binatang nakahuli ng isda (Luz. Vi. Minda series, no. 5), 1986-1991 · Oil on canvas · 195 × 155 × 3 cm
Nag-iisip si Adam (Adam was thinking about something), 1992 · Oil on paper · 76 × 56 cm
Cloud Canyons (no. 37), 1964/2016 · Acrylic glass, water, bio-degradable soap, pumps, electronics · 255 × 200 × 200 cm
Cloud Canyons (no. 37), 1964/2016 · Acrylic glass, water, bio-degradable soap, pumps, electronics · 255 × 200 × 200 cm
Cloud Canyons (no. 37), 1964/2016 · Installation view Mountains at Basel Social Club, Basel, 2024
Night Blooming Flower #2, 1998 · Glass, neon, electronics · 160 × 121 × 95 cm
Untitled, not dated · Paper cut, found magazine pages · 19,5 × 17,5 cm
Untitled, not dated · Paper cut, found magazine pages · 18,7 × 17,4 cm
Untitled, not dated · Paper cut, found magazine pages · 19,5 × 17,5 cm
A Stitch in Time, 2016 · Ink and watercolour on paper · 29,5 × 21 cm
Portrait of the Black Soprano Dorothy Maynor of the Harlem School of the Arts (Study for ‘New York Epiphanies’), 1993 · Ballpoint pen, coloured pencil and ink on New York Foundation for the Arts letter paper · 21,4 × 14 cm
Male Figure Reclining, 1960 · Watercolour and pen on paper · 56,5 × 75,5 cm
Portrait of Modigliani, 1959 · Graphite on paper · 27,9 × 21,6 cm
