I mbued with ingenuity and a keen sense of humour, No More Stories from 2019 is a vivid example of Spanish artist Javier Calleja’s signature portraits of wide-eyed boys, with emphatic phrases emblazoned across their t-shirts or written across picket-signs. 2019 was a significant year for the artist, having had his first solo exhibition at Galerie Zink in Waldkirchen, Germany, Javier Calleja: Clouds Through The Window, in which the present work was significantly exhibited. It has been in the proceeding years that audiences have begun to truly resonate with his work, admiring his playful yet sincere imagery. Collaborating with the artisan Manuel Molina to create solid, custom-built wooden frames for this exhibit, No More Stories is mounted by a uniquely exaggerated frame that plays with the artist’s ongoing exploration into scale and perception. Presenting a collects ion of 15 works on canvas as “Cabinet of Curiosities”, the densely arranged salon-style display recalls the collects ions of notable objects which were prevalent throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In blending his contemporary imagery dominated by big-eyed characters and the romanticised era of world exploration and new discoveries, Calleja places his otherwise playful work in a wider historic context.

No More Stories is a particularly joyful example of Calleja’s established signature style of glassy, watery eyed youths with characteristic hypervigilant stares and toothless smiles. In an interview with curator Sasha Bogojev for Juxtapoz magazine, the artist described: “I like simple things. Simple, but not easy. I always say that I like to find a magic moment” (Javier Calleja, quoted in Sasha Bogojev, “Javier Calleja: Finding That Magic Moment”, Juxtapoz magazine, 2019). He achieves this “magic moment” by focusing on the eyes, imbuing them with a sense of realism and fascination, enhancing the child-like innocence of his characters. The shaggy brown hair and piercingly aquatic eyes make for figure who seem approachable, yet with their attentive gaze, such elements render them as innocent as they are menacing, an effect only heightened by the almost threatening phrase “No More Stories” written across the figure’s chest and sign.

西 班牙藝術家哈維爾・卡勒加的2019 年作品 《No More Stories》 非常獨特而且幽默風趣，畫中男孩是卡勒加的經典肖像主題人物，他們瞪大眼睛，有時身穿寫上口號的T恤，有時在畫中與標語牌同時出現，上面的口號意味深長。2019 年對於卡勒加來說是非常重要的一年，德國瓦爾德基興的 Zink 畫廊為他舉辦首次個展，名為「哈維爾・卡勒加：窗外的雲」，這次上拍的《No More Stories》也是其中一幅展出作品。在此前幾年間，他的作品開始讓觀衆產生更深的共鳴，作品俏皮而真誠的形象廣受歡迎。他在《No More Stories》 中與藝匠曼努埃爾·莫利納合作，後者為該次展覽特別製作木畫框，本畫刻意誇張的畫托別具匠心，充分展現了卡勒加長期以來對比例和觀感的探索。展覽以「奇珍櫃」形式展出十五幅畫布作品，密集的沙龍式展示方法讓人想起流行於十六世紀和十七世紀的奇珍收藏風潮。卡勒加將富有趣味的作品置於更廣闊的歷史背景中，以大眼睛人物為主的當代圖像與探索世界的浪漫時代在他筆下融為一體。

《No More Stories》畫中眼睛水汪汪的男孩不露齒地微笑著，展現卡勒加廣爲人知的經典風格，也是其中一個特別悅目的例子。卡勒加在《Juxtapoz 雜誌》與策展人薩沙·博戈耶夫的訪問中表示：「我喜歡簡單的事情。簡單，但並不容易。我總是說我喜歡尋找奇妙的時刻」（引用薩沙·博戈耶夫，〈 哈維爾·卡列哈：尋找神奇時刻〉，《Juxtapoz 雜誌》，2019 年）。他的作品通常聚焦於人物的眼睛，突出人物像孩子般的純真，看起來頗有些現實感。畫中男孩一頭蓬鬆棕髮，亮晶晶的眼睛看起來平易近人又無辜，但那專心一志的凝視卻又不失銳利鋒芒，這種矛盾的感覺在男孩胸前和手持標語「No More Stories」映襯之下顯得更為强烈。