Javier de Villota was born in Madrid in 1942. He is a third-generation painter in his family. In his family we find the writer José Gutiérrez-Solana (1886-1945).
Villota has been self-taught since the age of 13, studying at the renowned Madrid College of Architecture (ETSAM), where he later teaches for years. In parallel, he studied medicine for three years and taught drawing at the Madrid School of Art. In 1972, he received a painting award at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. His work becomes the property of the Spanish state and is still on display in the permanent exhibition of the Reina Sofía Art Center and National Museum. In the same decade, he holds his first solo exhibitions in Spain and abroad.
In 1978, he gave up teaching to devote himself entirely to sculptural and painting research, in which the humanist and socio-political elements provide a constant impetus. Under the dramatic influence of Spanish traditions and based on the art of Goya and Gutiérrez-Solana, he creates series such as: Biafra, Los Grises - Policía Armada-, Inquisition, Mercado de la Muerte, ETA, La Generación del ́98, Mad Cow o Dehumanization Echo . His works can be found in the permanent exhibitions of many contemporary art museums around the world in Spain, as well as in the USA and South America (Bolivia, Chile, Mexico). He was recently elected an academician at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in San Telmo, Spain.
Javier de Villota lives and works in Madrid, Spain.
