Joan Castejón facts for kids

Joan Ramón García Castejón, born in Elche, Spain, on December 17, 1945, is better known as Joan Castejón. He is a talented Spanish draftsman, painter, and sculptor. Many people see him as one of the most important artists who brought a new style called social realism to Spain after the war. He was also a member of a group of artists called the Grup d'Elx.

His artwork has been shown in many important museums across Spain. These include the Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM), the Museum of the University of Alicante, and the Bancaja Foundation Center. His pieces can also be found at the University of Valencia and the Miguel Hernández University of Elche.

About Joan Castejón

His Early Life and Art

When Joan Castejón was sixteen, he moved to Valencia. There, he studied fine arts at the Academy of San Carlos. His very first art show was in 1966 at the Mateu art gallery in Valencia. During this early time (from 1964 to 1967), his art style was called neofigurative. This means he often drew human figures, sometimes in groups, in simple, undefined spaces. Even in these early works, you could see his unique style developing. He used strong, clear lines to create powerful images of the human body.

Facing Challenges

His art journey was interrupted in 1967. Joan Castejón took part in protests in Valencia against the government at the time, which was led by Franco. When he tried to help a friend who was in trouble, he was arrested. He was later sentenced to six years in prison by a special court.

Art During Difficult Times

Sculptures by Joan Castejón in Elche, his birthplace.

Joan Castejón was in prisons in Valencia and Teruel until mid-1969. Even in prison, he kept creating art. He drew about two thousand pictures using wax or pencil during this time. These experiences deeply influenced his art. In 1969, he joined the Grup d'Elx again and showed his art with them until 1971. Because of his activities, he was sent to a prison in the Canary Islands for another seven months in 1971.

Settling in Dénia

In 1973, Castejón married Paca Galván. He returned to Valencia for a short time, but a year later, he moved permanently to Dénia. This is a small city on the coast. In the late 1970s, he started painting again, using a more direct and powerful style called expressionism. In the 1980s, his art became brighter and more abstract, inspired by the landscapes around him. By the 1990s, his drawings became very detailed and dramatic, with the human figure often at the center. He often showed people struggling with life and the world around them.

In 1999, the city of Dénia honored him as an "Adopted Son." He has lived there since 1974.

His Artwork

'El Salt', wax on paper, 2002, by Joan Castejón.

One of the most amazing things about Joan Castejón's art is his incredible skill at drawing. This talent is clear in his paintings too. The writer José Manuel Caballero Bonald once said that Castejón "draws like a classic artist and thinks like a prophet." Enrique Cerdan Tato, a historian, wrote that Castejón wanted to show "a human world revealed by violence." He described how Castejón's art showed "helpless crowds" breaking into "fragments, lines, volumes, and masks."

After leaving prison, Castejón created a series of one hundred artworks. These were inspired by the famous book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. These works were shown in Valencia and Barcelona. The famous writer Mario Vargas Llosa commented on Castejón's art. He said it showed how painting can still be inspired by literature, just like it can be inspired by a person, a dream, or an event.

Martí Dominguez wrote in a newspaper that Joan Castejón might be one of the best Spanish artists at drawing the human body. Art critic Román de la Calle noted that Castejón's art shows a deep commitment to human experience. He said Castejón uses symbolic and dream-like elements to share his personal feelings. His skill in showing the human body in an expressionist way is very clear.

Between 2009 and 2010, Castejón had an exhibition called "Per a Paca." This show traveled across the province of Alicante and was a tribute to his wife. It featured over 50 abstract artworks that looked back at important moments in their lives together.

'Golden landscape', oil on canvas, 1993, by Joan Castejón.

Selected Works

• Maternidad gris (1969)
• The’y were more than three thousand (1973)
• Characters reduced by their own deeds (1974)
• La digestió (1978)
• Mutant d'águila irreal (1980)
• The day (1984)
• A Salvador Espriu (1989)
• Paisatge daurat 1993 (1993)
• El Salt (2002)
• Cavall nocturn (2004)
• The War (2009)

Where to See His Art

The largest public collection of Joan Castejón's works is at the Museum of Contemporary Art in his hometown of Elche. There was also a very large private collection owned by the Lecasse Foundation in Alcoy. This collection had about two hundred artworks bought by businessman Lionel Grau Mullor. Now, this collection has been divided among his family. The collection of drawings he made about Don Quixote is kept at the IVAM museum. Many other pieces are part of the Bancaja Foundation collection in Valencia.

Awards and Honors

• Total Art Work Award, from the Wagner Society of Alicante, 2014
• Premio Ocell, from the Mancomunitat de la Marina Alta, 2005
• Honour member of the Institut d'Estudis Comarcals del Baix Vinalopó, 2001
• Honour member of the Institut d'Estudis Comarcals de la Marina Alta, 1999
• Adoptive Son of the city of Dénia, by the Ajuntament de Dénia, 1999
• Premi la Tardor, from the Universitat Politècnica de València, 1994
• Homage to Joan Castejón. Key of the City of Mont De Marsan, France, 1993

See also

• Social realism
• Grup d'Elx