In the Studio: Javier Abizu

Artist Javier Arbizu (b. January 10, 1984) studied Fine Arts at the University of Salamanca, Spain and at the Kunstchochschule Kassel, Germany. After his graduation he was awarded with the Segundo Vicente Award from the Vicente y Garcia Corselas Foundation of the University of Salamanca to conduct a research on the Melancholia in Painting. In May 2014, Javier completed his Masters in Fine Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute under the sponsorship of the Fulbright Foundation and the Institute of International Education. Among other prices and awards, it’s worth mentioning the “Mario Antolin Scholarship” from the prestigious BMW Foundation Award; the “Visual Arts Grants” and “Encuentros 2008” from the Government of Navarra; the “Young Painters Award” from La Gaceta Foundation Salamanca; the “Emerging Artists Award” from the Government of Castilla y León and the “Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Award” from the San Francisco Foundation. 

He has shown his work in the Contemporary Art Centers of HUARTE, Pamplona and Da2 Salamanca, the Universities of Salamanca, Kassel, and the San Francisco Art Institute, the gallery Alfama in Madrid, the Cultural Centers of Pozuelo, La Vaguada in Madrid and SOMarts in San Francisco and the National Museum of Sudan, Khartoum. His work is in the collections of the Government of Navarra, the Council of Castilla y Leon, the University of Salamanca, the BMW Foundation, the Caja Duero Fundation and the City Hall of Salamanca among others. On 2013 under the sponsorship of the Government of Navarra he launches is first catalogue that includes texts of Monica Vázquez. From the years 2010 to 2012 Javier Arbizu worked as Cultural Attaché of the Spanish Embassy to Sudan. His main functions were to draft and implement the “National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad” and the “Strategy for Culture and Development” in the countries of Sudan, South Sudan and Eritrea.