JAVIER CALLEJA: NO ART HERE

NANZUKA is presenting “NO ART HERE,” a solo exhibition of works by Spanish artist Javier Calleja at NANZUKA 2G.

Calleja produces works that bring surprise and humor to viewers by incorporating subtle twists and interventions to various events within everyday life. Expressing a fondness for the works of René Magritte, Calleja attempts to reference and reinterpret the techniques of the surrealist master through contemporary portraiture. As testimony of such endeavor, his expressions carefully pay attention to details such as changes in color and shifts in scene, as well as gaps and discrepancies between his subjects and the messages that they convey. Furthermore, the setting for the narratives that naturally draw the attention of the viewer, are also an ingenious ploy that are executed on his part. When confronting his works, we as viewers come to realize that what is in fact represented within its context, is our own mentality and subjectivity.

On this occasion, a three-dimensional work with a placard that reads “NO ART HERE,” which serves as the tile of the exhibition, is presented along with an installation that is based upon it. While at first glance the work can be interpreted as a self-deprecating joke, the presence of this text is in fact an antic that encourages us to paradoxically perceive what we see as a work of art.