Javier de Juan
Linares (Jaén) 1958

Spanish artist Javier de Juan is an outstanding figure in the visual art image of the Movida Madrileña (the ‘Madrid Scene’ countercultural movement during the transition to democracy in Spain and on into the 1980s). He dropped out of Architecture due to his interest in drawing. His intention was to capture visually the changes that were taking place in the urban areas of Madrid. He published his work in the now-legendary Madriz magazine from 1984 onwards and in other publications of the time including La Luna, Madrid Me Mata, Sur Exprés and El Canto de la Tripulación. He also developed poster art through the Port Said Ediciones publishing house, which he founded. His work was influenced by German design from the 1920s, the US art of the 1950s and graffiti. In 1987 he published his first graphic novel Sic transit o la muerte de Olivares, which was a landmark for this type of publication in Spain. In 1989 he moved to New York, and the city’s influence could soon be seen in his pictorial work, where the forms became more dynamic. De Juan also then began to work with etching. He moved to Soller (Majorca) in 1990, where he developed a more reflective, intimate oeuvre. In 1994 he moved to Balsicas (Murcia), a non-urban area described in his publication Un exilio mediopensionsita, which comprises extracts from notes, thoughts, drawings and tales. Back in Madrid, his production expanded into new media such as digital collages, with his mural The Journey for Barajas Airport being particularly noteworthy. With the turn of the century, he has continued to experiment with new media in installations such as Artificial Paradises; and works in video, film and 3D animation including The Invisible City (2015), where he returned to the urban theme, but focused on capturing movement as a visual, descriptive element.

His first solo show was at the Ynguanzo Gallery in Madrid in 1985; he would subsequently be linked to the Moriarty Gallery and the Max Estrella Gallery in Madrid. Javier de Juan has also had solo shows at venues including the Seville Contemporary Art Museum (1987) with a travelling exhibition that was later taken to Geneva, Valencia and Barcelona; his first retrospective at Casal Solleric (Palma, 2003); and another of his graphic work at the Museum of Spanish Contemporary Engraving (Marbella, Malaga, 2010). In 1995 he was awarded the National Etching Award by Calcografía Nacional.

Roberto Díaz