Only a couple of weeks after opening an impressive installation at Zink Galerie in Germany, Javier Calleja, featured in our Spring 2019 Issue, took off to Greece for a month-long residency, which harvested in Those Little Things, a solo presentation with Dio Horia that opened on the jubilant Greek island of Mykonos on June 28th.
For his first solo exhibition in the country, the artist imagined a body of work that intimately connected to his new surroundings. Working with found objects, referencing local characters, and focusing his palette to the colors of local flowers, Calleja produced works that converse with space and in doing so, invite the viewer. Discovery of the island's vibrant flora inspired the artist to entitle the showcase Those Little Things in a nod to all those little gems that often go unnoticed but brighten and heighten our world.
Painting and writing on the walls of an authentic local house transformed into an art venue, the artist constructed a journey that extends beyond the walls. Drawing on the stairs close to the ceiling and in the corners of rooms, Calleja gave visitors a glimpse of his optimistic spirit and enlivened the environment.
The exhibition also includes spontaneous collaborations with Serbian artist Maja Djordjević, ranging from tiny pieces on salvaged wood to large-scale canvases. These works capture the vigorous island spirits, as in the interaction between Calleja's innocent big-eyed boys and Djordjevic's pixelated raunchy nude female archetypes. The combination of these two styles portrays the reality of a Cycladic island that dances around its natural beauty, impressive ancient heritage, and modern-day reputation of summer party epicenter ––Sasha Bogojev
Those Little Things is on view at Dio Horia through July 24th.
