UDIT appoints artist Javier de Juan as honorary professor
UDIT, University of Design and Technology, has named Javier de Juan Linares honorary professor of the University. In a ceremony presided over by the Rector, Juan Cayón, the University wanted to recognise Javier de Juan's professional career as a multifaceted painter, draughtsman, engraver, muralist and digital artist.
Born in Linares (Jaén) in 1958, Javier de Juan lives and works in Madrid, being an outstanding figure in relation to the plastic image of the Madrid movida and the new figuration of the eighties. His work has been marked by the influence of expressionism and German design of the 1930s, as well as by American art of the 1950s and graffiti.
The event was also attended by members of the UDIT university community - academic staff and students - as well as a good number of artists and illustrators and family members and friends of the honoured artist.
Also taking the floor were Luis Calandre, academic director of the University, Juan Carlos Gauli, director of the Degree in Audiovisual Design and Illustration, Javier Chavarría, director of the Master's Degree in Illustration at UDIT and Inmaculada Corcho, director of the ABC Museum of Drawing and Illustration.
A multidisciplinary artist with a great projection since the 80s
Javier de Juan, trained as an architect, has worked since the 1980s from a conception of art as a present and transforming element of civil society, seeking presence and visibility through the most varied media, techniques and contents.
All his work is based on drawing as a hunter of ideas and as the basis of all artistic creation. These concepts have led him to work with all possible languages. From comics to large murals, among others in Barajas airport in Madrid or on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands. From collaborations in the press and on posters, to projections on façades in recent years and installations.
In 1984 he participates in the foundation of the magazine Madriz, and collaborates over the years with different cultural publications: Madrid Me Mata, La Luna, Sur Express, El Europeo, El Canto de la Tripulación. His work also became a regular feature in the main national newspapers, ABC, El País and El Mundo.
In the early 1980s he founded the publishing house Port Said, with the aim of giving national and international visibility to Spanish artists.
His publications include graphic novels, folders of engravings, picture books and poetry books. His book "Un exilio mediopensionista", published by El Europeo in 1995, stands out.
Since his first solo exhibition in 1984, when he was considered a member of the "Movida", he has been exhibiting painting and installations regularly in galleries and institutions in Spain and abroad.
He has worked mainly with the galleries Moriarty, Gamarra y Garrigues, Estiarte and Max Estrella in Madrid and his work has been regularly present at national and international fairs such as ARCO in Madrid, FIAC in Paris, the Kunstmesse in Zurich and other events in Chicago, Miami, New York....
In addition, since 2006 he has been working in experimental animated film, as director, scriptwriter and designer, developing innovative technologies that have culminated in public screenings in the street, with the Ministry of Culture and the Madrid City Council, as well as in collaborations with private companies.
In 2017 he directed, designed and animated the documentary El Silencio Roto, about school bullying.
His work in serial art has earned him the MGEC National Award in Marbella and the National Engraving Award in 1995. In 2017 he received the Pop Eye Award for his career in the visual arts, in recognition of his contribution to pop culture.
He has given courses and lectures throughout his career in different universities, Menéndez Pelayo, URJC, Euroforum, Camilo José Cela... In addition, he has been a member of the jury in multiple art competitions, both institutional and private.
His work is in collections and museums. Among others, Fundación Telefónica, Fundación Tabacaler, Fundación BBVA, Fundación Juan March, Fundación La Caixa, Fundación AENA, Fundación Banco de España, Calcografía Nacional, Lindner Foundation, Dusseldorf, Colección del Teatro Real de Madrid, Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofia, Museo Nacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid and Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo de Marbella.
