Javier Félix (b. 1976) is a Colombian-Spanish visual artist whose work focuses on corporeality as a language and the concept of anthropozoomorphism, exploring the constant transformation of identity and the dialogue between the human, the animal, and the spiritual. He graduated in Visual Arts from the University of the Andes in Bogotá (1998) and earned a Master’s in Visual Arts from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain (2008). His education is further enriched by studies in classical art in Florence, Italy, and Native American and pre-Columbian art at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In his work, the body is not a static object but a territory in constant transformation where identity, memory, and spirituality converge. Félix conceives it as an “extraordinary event,”an ambiguous and mutable space suggesting an unstable balance between what remains and what disappears (Canibaal). As art critic Gregorio Vigil-Escalera points out:
“In Javier Félix’s work, there is an encounter between the body and myth, between ritual and rupture. Each piece seems to balance on a fragile edge, as if it could break at any moment to reveal something deeper, something that remains hidden and yet vibrantly present.” (Gregorio Vigil-Escalera)
This approach materializes in a unique material vocabulary, where techniques and media intertwine organically, without maps or predefined routes. For Félix, matter is not a medium but a territory where something trembles before it appears.
In the collective exhibition “Metaphors of Peace” (2023-2024) at the Gabriel García Márquez Cultural Center in Madrid, he presented works such as “Quipu for Telepaths,” a reinterpretation of the Andean quipu as a symbolic communication system, and “Empathies,” a piece exploring empathy as the foundation of human relationships (Love IDAA).
His work has been exhibited in cities such as Bogotá, Madrid, London, Lisbon, Santa Fe, Basel and Florence, where he participated in the XVI Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art (2023). He has also been featured in international fairs such as Volta Basel in Switzerland, London Art Fair, JustMAD in Madrid (StyleFeelFree) and JustLX in Lisbon, represented by the Portuguese gallery Perve Galeria (Perve Galeria). Additionally, he has collaborated with ANTO Arte, a Spanish gallery emphasizing his experimental and multicultural approach (ANTO Arte).
It is worth noting that Javier Félix has had the honor of exhibiting alongside the renowned Portuguese surrealist master Cruzeiro Seixas. Their collaborations, such as the exhibition “Connections 2 Afro-Ibero-America” at the aPGn2 - a PiGeon too / Art Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal, curated by Carlos Cabral Nunes, have been instrumental in deepening his engagement with surrealist themes and techniques.
Specialized media such as Revista Crisis, Liceo Magazine (Liceo Magazine), Canibaal (Canibaal), Love IDAA (Love IDAA), and StyleFeelFree(StyleFeelFree) have analyzed his work, highlighting his ability to establish dialogues between the ancestral and the contemporary, inviting an open reflection on time, identity, and transformation.
Artistic Statement
“Matter is not a medium; it is a territory where something trembles before it appears. There are no maps or routes; forms emerge, unfold, and sometimes fold back, leaving only a trace. My figures are suspended bodies, identities that dissolve and recombine in a single gesture. Fragments that breathe, layers that gently peel away. There is something ancient in them, a murmur that crosses time and remains suspended. The ancient and the contemporary dissolve like a drop of ink in a glass of water, permeating everything, with no return, no possibility of separating one thing from another. In this space, diversity is not a theme or a starting point; it is an essential condition: the multiplicity of life, materials, forms, and languages that intersect and transform ceaselessly. There are no answers or certainties, only a fragile balance where everything is on the verge of transformation. The sacred and the vulgar gaze at each other without scandal.”
Cited Links:
• Gregorio Vigil-Escalera, Blog Personal
EXHIBITIONS- Selection (2019-2023):
Emergent Saloon. Casa da Liberdade Mario Cesaryni, Lisbon. Portugal.2024
“Metaphors for Peace”. Centro Cultural Gabriel García Marquez. Embajada de Colombia en España, Madrid. October-January 2024
XIV Florence Biennale. Fortezza da Basso. Florence, Italy. October 2023
Connections 2 Afro-Ibero-AmericaaPGn2 Gallery. Lisboa, Portugal.
2023 Disorganism and its Shadow. Individual exhibition. Perve Galeria, Lisbon, Portugal.
2021-2022 Ante.Visão, Galeria Santa Maria Maior, Lisbon, Portugal
2021 Dialogues 2.0, Perve Galeria,
2020-21: Lisbon Cycle celebrating the 100 years of Cruzeiro Seixas - Cem Nadas Perfeitos, Atmosfera m, Lisbon.
2020-21: Global(ism), aPGn2, Lisbon.
EARLIER EXHIBITIONS: 2019-1994
-1994 Exhibition of Cano Artists, National University of Colombia. Bogota Colombia.
-1994 Selected students, León de Greiif Auditorium, UNAL, Bogotá, Colombia.
-1997 XVIII Regional Artists' Hall, old Santa Fe station. Bogotá, Colombia.
-1998 "META-PLASTIC." Individual Exhibition. Wiedemann House, Bogotá, Colombia.
-1998 "DO IT" by Hans-Ulbrich Obrist. In collaboration with Juan Fernando Herrán, Casa de la Moneda, Bogotá, Colombia.
-1999 Selected artists, Comune di Firenze, Florence, Italy.
-1999, Short Films, New York University Auditorium, New York, USA.
-2000 "5 cardinal points" Casa Cuadrada Gallery, Bogotá, Colombia.
-2001 IAIA Museum Artist Exhibition, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
-2002 IAIA Museum Artist Exhibition, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
-2003. Group exhibition, IAIA Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
-2008 "Observatori" digital art exhibition, Centro del Carmen, Valencia, Spain.
-2008 Photographers, Raiowski Gallery. Valencia Spain
-2011 "Currents 2011" New Media, IAIA Digital Dome. Santa Fe, New Mexico. USA.
-2013, "Indigenous Brilliance", Olocau, Valencia, Spain. (Artist and Curator)
-2015 "Where your eyes take me" Feeding Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
-2015 "A window to Malasaña" Feeding Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
-2015 "Deconstructions of Javi Felix" Nidok Art Gallery, Barcelona, Spain.
-2017. Art Against Oblivion. Boadilla de Rioseco, Castilla León, Spain.
-2018. New York Armory Arts Weeks Stricoff Gallery, New York, Chelsea, USA.
-2018. Studio Art Fair International, Lisbon, Portugal
ART FAIRS:
Volta Basel Art fair. 2024. Basel, Switzerland.
JustMAD, Neptuno Palace, Madrid | 02/26/2023 Javier Félix with Reinata Sadimba, José Chambel, Bogdan Gulyay, Ivan Villalobos.
London Art Fair. London, UK. 04.24.2022 Javier Félix with Cruzeiro Seixas, Reinata Sadimba, Ivo Basante, Ivan Villalobos
JustLx 2022, Lisbon, Portugal Javier Félix with Figueiredo Sobral, Ivan Villalobos, Reinata Sadimba and Teresa Balté
JustMad 2022, Neptuno Palace, Madrid Javier Félix with Reinata Sadimba and Ivan Villalobos.
Drawing Room Madrid, Palacio Santa Barbara, Madrid. 2021 Javier Félix with Ivan Villalobos and Cruzeiro Seixas.
London Art Fair, London, UK. Javier Félix with Ivan Villalobos, Reinata Sadimba and Liudvika S. Koort. Multimédia Perve Collective, 2020:
JustMad 2022, Madrid, 2019 Javier Félix with Ernesto Shikhani, Reinata Sadimba, Tchalé Figueira, José Chambel and Ivan Villalobos.