Pepe Cobo inaugurated in 1984, in Seville, the gallery known as La Maquina Española, beginning his work with a nucleus of artists associated with Figura magazine (Guillermo Paneque, Federico Guzmán, Rafael Agredano or Pepe Espaliú among others) who sought to react to the pictorial tradition in Spain and the state of stagnation of the artistic panorama. The Spanish Machine seeks to look outward and, given the socio-economic characteristics of the moment (Spain and its autonomies), to combine the idea of ​​art without borders with a combination of Andalusian and foreign artists of the most rabid contemporaneity, in addition, attending fairs of the most relevant international art of the moment: Art Basel, Chicago, FIAC, ARCO, Los Angeles and Colonia.

In 1988 he moved La Maquina Española to Madrid, which opened in January of that year with an exhibition by the American artist Cindy Sherman, and where he continued to develop his gallery’s programming line with artists such as Bernard Frieze, James Lee Byars or Jonathan Borofsky , while creating and advising important collections of contemporary art.

In addition to this, in 1991 and together with two of the most important gallery owners on the New York scene at the time, John Weber and Brooke Alexander. Opened in Madrid Weber, Alexander and Cobo, where he could see great exhibition projects -both because of the importance of its artists as well as the spectacular space available to them – such renowned international artists as Robert Mapplethorpe, James Rosenquist, John Baldessari, Jasper Johns, Sol Lewitt and Richard Tuttle among others.

In 1994 he closed all the galleries in Madrid and returned to Seville, dedicating himself at this time to artistic advisory and consultancy activities and organizing the Hotel y Arte en Sevilla project, which emerged in 1997 and lasted until 2000.

In 1999 he reopened a gallery in Seville as Galería Pepe Cobo, continuing the line of work that he had followed until then and incorporating new artists.

In 2005, the Galeria Pepe Cobo moved to Madrid following the line of work started with La Maquina Española and working with national and international artists of the latest trends in contemporary art through exhibitions and their participation in contemporary art fairs around the world: Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Frieze Art Fair, The Armory Show and ARCO.

2009 is the year of Pepe Cobo’s new project: Cambio de Aceite, an artistic space that was a former vehicle repair shop. Oblivious to the traditional neutral gallery cube with white walls, this new space maintains its initial and structural characteristics with the aim of supplying an incentive and a challenge for contemporary creators.

In addition to the aforementioned gallery and advisory career, Pepe Cobo also has a long history of curating exhibitions and has been part of the advisory committee of the Chicago Contemporary Art Fair, Arte Lisboa 2001 and also of ARCO Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid during the years 2001-2003 and 2005-2008.

Pepe Cobo is also an advisor to important private and business collections, such as the ACS Collection, the Bergé Collection and the MP Collection, having also advised on the installation of works specifically designed for Torre Espacio (OHL), in 2008-2009 , as well as the advice of the HL1 Collection.

Peru and more specifically Lima is a new challenge for Pepe Cobo, which supposes -in his long experience of almost thirty years in the world of the international market- to introduce, contribute and open to this country -a place of so much history and traditions, in a moment of outward visibility- said experience, the art and artists of the world, as well as advising and initiating collections of contemporary art to large companies. Thus, he opens his latest Gallery pepe cobo y cia in the Peruvian capital.

All of this materializes by creating exhibitions that will be based on a title or theme, such as the first one -opened on November 21, 2013- with the title «Silhouettes and portraits of women», with artists such as Picasso, Picabia, Polke, Ruscha, Saura, Balkenhol, Sandra Gamarra or Pepe Espaliú.

Currently, Pepe Cobo is dedicated to the management, coordination and advice of large projects, having left the role of gallerist since he closed his gallery in Lima in 2016.