The human skull has been one such inspiration for Javier. He is not alone here. For millennia, artists have been fascinated by the iconic object of bone and enamel that exists inside each of our heads. From carefully placed skulls upon ancient funeral piers, to the ornately decorated skulls that Tibetans use to pay tribute to their ancestors, to the haunting chandeliers and decorations of the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic, right through to Damien Hirst’s For the Love of God and the explosion of contemporary pop art and graphics.

True to form, Javier has mined this rich vein of creative inspiration in his own enthralling way. Firstly, through his Oxidations Series. Here, smaller than life-size skulls have been embellished with the patinas and colourations caused by oxidation. It has been a source of deep fascination for Javier. He has created a veritable spectrum of beautiful works, each as unique as the artist who created them and the collectors who own them.

Secondly, through his most recent works. Here, Javier draws on his diverse and comprehensive repertoire of skills as a fine artist and craft practitioner. It is for the viewer to reflect on whether Javier is eliciting subtle metaphor through his jarring juxtaposition of aesthetic materiality. Form against texture. One colour in rude contrast to its neighbour. Then again, maybe he is simply enjoying wild exploration and experimentation. Either way, it is a study of the human skull in its most arresting and extreme.