We recently attended the opening of Javier Calleja's solo show at Galerie Zink's impressive new space located in the Bavarian countryside outside Nuremberg, Germany. Suggesting the potential new direction of the gallery's strategy and practice, Clouds Through the Window perfectly utilizes the unique space, constructing an immersive installation best experienced in person.

Titled after the arresting view the gallery, Clouds Through the Window is the Spanish artist's second presentation with Zink and a continuation of his compelling installation work. "I feel really good about this show! I think that Michael Zink has built an incredible space in a spectacular place where any artist would be happy to have a show."


javier calleja zink05

Staying away from presenting his sculptural work for this exhibition, Calleja focused on using the biggest wall of the gallery to create a perception-deceiving take on the old cabinets of curiosities layout. "I always visit the spaces where I will expose, to experience and explore it. I make sketches of what I would like to do, share them with the gallerist, and in the end, I'm happy to see that what we devised is done almost exactly as we thought!"

Blowing up the scale the works shown in a classical salon-type display, Calleja strongly relies on the skills and talent of woodworker and artisan, Manuel Molina to create an almost sculptural installation on the walls of the gallery. "I certainly have in mind to continue making these frames for some of my works but not all. I have always been interested in the concept of scale, and with these oversized frames, the paintings lose their real scale on the wall."

javier calleja zink20

With each painting displayed inside a custom-made frame, from a small frame covered with gold leaf to a larger frame carved out of massive pieces of solid wood, the Malaga-based artist's work achieves a playful, almost timeless feel. Appearing light-hearted with a clear conceptual and physical sense, these new pieces are the next step in Calleja's effort to play with perspective and place the viewer as the key element.  Always pushing himself to construct exciting installations, Clouds Through the Window is Calleja's strongest showcase to date.

During the opening days, Javier Calleja (who we featured in Spring 2019 issue) also signed his 3 new limited-edition screenprints which Zink Galerie will be releasing on June 13th in an edition of 70 examples of each image.

Photo and text credit @SashaBogojev, additional installation photography by Erich Spahn and Calleja Studio