The exhibition CALLEJA / HOPPEK, stories of two for an impossible ending… and some Magrittian realities in the Rafael Pérez Hernando Gallery was a splendid and optimistic end to a sunny Saturday morning in Madrid. It was part of A 3 Bandas, an annual project in which Contemporary art galleries in Madrid and Barcelona invite an independent curator to design an ad-hoc exhibition. Although Boris Hoppek`s mural caught my eye instantly, it was Javier Calleja`s work (Málaga, Spain, 1971) that really won my heart. Drawings that grow and grow until they go out of the frame, conquering the walls and remembering us good art always goes well beyond its limits; a canvas whose shape creates the illusion of perspective, a task usually kept for lines and colours; and a world of tiny figures and meteorites that might be potatoes are all part of Calleja`s fantastic universe. Even though he is fascinated with such a tragic topics like the end of the world, his childish and colourful imagery has a note of optimism and humour. For instance, the otherwise threatening meteorites has turned by Calleja into friendly, cartoon-like stones with big, expressive eyes. Both artists represented in the exhibition provide a similar childlike look, straightforward and without drama as if nothing was too serious.
↑ ONCE UPON A TIME… by Javier Calleja /Acrylic on wall / 2014
↑ Sculpture by Javier Calleja
↑ UNTITLED by Javier Calleja / 2014
↑ POOL OF TEARS by Javier Calleja / 2013
↑ Intallation by Javier Calleja
↑ WALL PAINTING by Boris Hoppek / 2014
