Álvaro Corral Cid is an artist and researcher. He holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid (2022) and a Master’s in Research in Art and Creation (2023). His practice emerges from the archaeological shadows of collective imaginaries. With a particular focus on Galician themes, his research engages with historical-artistic perspectives through folklore, archives, tradition, and craftsmanship. His artistic practice reexamines epistemologies and reshapes national archetypes in Spain through imagery and regional attire.
In 2024, with his project Toda la poesía, as a recipient of the Quarterly Residencies for Visual Artists at Matadero Madrid, he embarked on an extensive study on the construction and evolution of the Galician folkloric archetype during the Franco regime. This research is framed within a broader global perspective, exploring how authoritarian policies have encroached upon Spanish identities and their traditional expressions, with a particular focus on regional dress.
He has participated in conferences and seminars at various universities and cultural institutions across Spain, delivering lectures such as Que me quiten el calzón. Algunas nociones sobre lo erótico de la indumentaria tradicional (Postsexualidades, UCM, 2024), Faldas y cadáveres. Algunos modos de pensar en el violento pasado (Nosymmetries-La Capella, Barcelona, 2024), Entre hacer y deshacer aprende la niña a coser (y mucho más) (Hacer tesis / hacer universidad, UCM, 2023), and Yo te miraba… tú me bordabas las flechas (CRA Matadero, 2024).
His works have also been featured in national and international exhibitions, including DARS-Donna Arte Ricerca Sperimentazione (Gorizia, 2023), IL LIBRO HA RADICI E SEMI (Rome, Palermo, Bologna, Florence… 2021-2023), the Certamen de Artes Plásticas Diputación de Ourense (2023), the Jornadas de Puertas Abiertas at Matadero Madrid (2024), and the RedItiner 2025 exhibition cycle (Community of Madrid, 2025), among others.
His artistic practice and research have been published in journals such as Re-visiones (2024), with “D.R.A.G. (Dressing Resembling A Galician): Identity Conditions of Regional Dress in Spain”, and ReCia (2024), with “La hermana muerta de Pilar Primo de Rivera y algunos modos de coser pensando en el pasado”.
