Javier Calleja is a true idol in Asia. His kawaii aesthetic works are priced upwards, some over a million euros. He debuted in Hong Kong with his characters with big, teary eyes and a barely visible smile. With his international projection, the artist could have settled in New York or Tokyo, but he has his workshop in Malaga, where he creates his particular creatures in transition from childhood to adolescence, little heroes who have just overcome something painful and are about to smile. again.
Today it is Calleja himself who smiles from Miami, within the framework of Art Basel-Miami Beach, which brings together galleries, artists, collectors, curators and art enthusiasts internationally. At this modern and contemporary art fair, the man from Malaga inaugurates Art Editions, Lladró’s new artistic platform, with which the firm enters the contemporary art circuit with the creation of author’s works, exclusive and in very limited series.
As the first guest of Art Editions, Calleja switches drawing, painting and sculpture for handmade porcelain. He has created three original works that reflect his particular and unmistakable plastic universe, under the name You Choose One. Niño, Gato Diablo and Gato Ángel are vibrant and colorful creations with an innocent appearance with which the artist, with no other intention than to generate emotions, without artifices, invites reflection. Beneath its apparent formal simplicity, the porcelain creation and the recreation of all the details of the characters in these sculptures hide great technical complexity.
The Child, with his round head and oversized eyes, transmits that captivating innocence. He is accompanied by two feline confidants. On one side, Devil Cat, a character who does not seem to be particularly evil and with an enigmatic expression. On the other side, Gato Ángel, who presents a more dreamy and contemplative expression.
All the pieces created by Calleja have the particularity that they combine porcelain and glass. The unmistakable eyes of the characters, so important in Calleja’s work, are made of glass, unlike the rest of the piece made by hand in porcelain. A differentiating element that increases the expressiveness of the pieces.
Another highlight of this collection is the packaging. The packaging, which Lladró always designs ad hoc for each piece to guarantee its distribution to the whole world from its only factory in Valencia, in this collection takes a new twist. For the first time, in the You Choose One–25 series, each box is unique and exclusive, just like each work.
