About
My name is Iker García Barrenetxea
Grounded in three years of formal Fine Art training at UPV/EHU (Bilbao) and shaped by a fierce independent drive, my path has evolved through self-directed practice and over 25 years of active production. A trajectory built through large-scale series of drawings and paintings, multidisciplinary projects, and the former direction of an artist-run-space in East London.
The Story
I left San Sebastián at 18 to study Fine Arts in Bilbao, beginning an unconventional journey across 17 intense years in London. In those early years, I built my way from the ground up—selling T-shirts with my drawings at Spitalfields Market at 22, converting a factory in Hackney Wick, and learning the trade through direct action. Those roots naturally led to directing my own space on Vyner Street and collaborating internationally.
Eight years ago, a collaborative project with a creative company brought me back to San Sebastián, where I ultimately decided to stay. Today, back in San Sebastián, life moves at a different, more considered pace, although my studio remains active connecting local and international projects.
Four Generations of Heritage (Left to right):
Me in my current studio, La Droguería (San Sebastián).
The historic studio in Corella, Navarra (Est. 1950) carrying the visual legacy of my great-grandfather and my grandfather, both painters and photographers.
An archive portrait shot by my grandfather of my father posing with a mini easel - who ultimately chose economics, leaving the artistic continuity to bridge directly from my grandfather to me.
Academic Background
Fine Arts Studies — Faculty of Fine Arts UPV / EHU Bilbao (1997–2000)
Artist-Run Space & Curatorial Platform
The Vyner Studio (TVS) — Founder, Artistic Director & Principal Curator — London, UK (2010–2015)
Institutional Collections & Heritage
Gordailua — Gipuzkoa Heritage Centre
Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia
Augustenborg Project Collection (Denmark)
Canvas Tube (Vancouver, Canada)
Grants & Institutional Support
Augustenborg Project - Invited Artist Residency (Denmark, 2021)
Instituto Etxepare - International Mobility Grant (Artist in Residency Denmark, 2021)
Mundura (Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa) (Focus Art Paris, 2021) — Cultural Export & Mobility Support (Focus Art Fair Paris, 2021)
European Union (NextGenerationEU / Kit Digital, 2026)
K-Bulegoa (Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa) & Donostia Cultura) — Strategic Grants & Cultural Project Advisory
Curriculum Vitae
Selected Art Galleries & Exhibitions
(Upcoming)
Aquarium SS — San Sebastián (Apr. 2027)
Magna Art Auctions — Madrid (Oct. 2026)
(Past)
Magna Art Auctions — Madrid
The Vyner Studio — London
Pure Evil Gallery — London
Mall Galleries — London
St-Art Gallery — London
Loiola K.E. ı Donostia Kultura — San Sebastián
Galería Arte UpArte — San Sebastián
Galería Arteko — San Sebastián
Galería Acanto — Almería
Galería Noventa Grados — San Sebastián
Galería Ormolú — Pamplona
Galería Utupí — Barcelona
Sala de Exposiciones CCOO — Santander
Art Fairs
Focus Art Fair — Paris (2021)
Hackney Wicked Art Festival — London (2009, 2010, 2011)
BAC!06 Contemporary Art Festival — Galería Niu Barcelona (2006)
Affordable Art Fair — London (2004)
Custom Artwork & Creative Collaborations
(Upcoming)
Letoh Letoh SS Hotel (Oct. 2026)
Hotel Tres Reyes SS (Nov. 2026)
(Past)
Social Hub (feat. Arte UpArte)
Naiara Elgarresta (Reconnect Collection)
Illusion Surfboards
Mimo Bite the Experience
Pentagram — Do The Green Thing
Miguel Marín (a.k.a. Arbol)
H. Forman & Son London
Coronita Extra
Sr. Goldwind
Kendu In-Store Solutions
Stephanie Schwary
Koba Interiors
Lauaizeta Ikastola
Cafe Nanea Gelhaussen
Taberna Añorga Almería
Media & Cultural Partnerships
(The Vyner Studio)
First Thursdays / Time Out London & Whitechapel Gallery
Photomonth
London Design Festival
Ajuntament de Barcelona
Barcelona Centre de Disseny (BCD)
GR Industrial
Colectivo Futuro
Spatial Interventions
Augustenborg Project — Site-Specific Residency Art Installation — Denmark (2021)
Hackney Wicked Art Festival— Live Mural Painting at Lord Napier Pub — London (2011)
Vicente Cañada Blanch School — Spatial Art Intervention & Architectural Collaboration with Álvaro Fernández, Pablo Padilla Jargstoff & Máximo Recio — London (2016)
Selected Stockists & Retail Partners
Old Spitalfields Market (Pop-up) — London
Public Beware — London
Junky — London
Noventa Grados — San Sebastián
Ocre — San Sebastián
Piropo — San Sebastián
D-spacio — Madrid
Laskurain — Beasain
Muma — Eibar
Nude Boutique — Almería
MM — Tolosa
Art Market & Collections
Selected Projects & Initiatives
Art Galleries, Collaborations & Commissions
Art Studio
Set at street level along the river in the Loiola district - a repurposed historic drugstore - has served as my workspace for the last four years, shared with Allan Daastrup Danish lettering designer.
Please note that the studio functions an an active creative workspace. Client visits are welcome by appointment only.