Prints by Javier Calleja

Prints by Javier Calleja

Javier Calleja is a Spanish artist who gained worldwide recognition for his character paintings, sculptures, and installations. The figures are known for their realistically rendered eyes and contrastingly flat backdrops. Often paired with darkly humorous text, Calleja lets the characters speak for themselves and relies on the viewer to form their own stories for his work. After several international shows and a hugely successful market in Asia, it’s clear that something about the large-eyed figures resonates on a universal level.

About the Artist:

Javier Calleja was born in Málaga, 1971 and completed a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Granada University in 2000. Before he completed his artistic training at the age of 31 he was a gymnastics athlete training for the Olympics. Calleja’s work seems to be a simple aesthetic, but he creates surprising and humorous art pieces through ingenious changes in everyday events. In his paintings, drawings, and sculptures he deploys the aesthetic conventions of cartoons and the illustrations of children’s books, in his search for simplicity and immediacy.

In addition to the comics, pop art and surrealism both influence the work of Javier Calleja; the artist invites the viewer to form part of playful scenes and to interact by participating in his ironies or by reacting to the disproportionate sizes that evoke the worlds of Alice.

Calleja has presented 5 solo museum exhibitions and 22 solo gallery exhibitions in several international cities, including Hong Kong, Greece, Germany, Tokyo, Spain, Rome, London. The artist also shows at many museums and art fairs such as ARCO Madrid, Art Basel Hong Kong, ZONAMACO, Art Brussels. His work has been featured in Juxtapoz, Hypebeast, and other international art publications. The artist now lives and works in Málaga, Spain.

For more information on prints by Javier Calleja, contact info@guyhepner.comcreate new email.