Javier Badell

About

Bio

At the age of 7, Javier Badell began his art exploration at the Escuela de Arte Neptali Rincón, located in his hometown Maracaibo, Venezuela. This is where his love of bright colors, lines, and textures was born. His lessons consisted of depicting still life, local landscapes, and architecture, which were already filled with vibrant colors that echoed the culture he inherited. Moving forward, Badell would seek ways to incorporate these elements into every work of art.

Badell moved to the United States in 2000 and received his B.F.A. with a concentration in graphic design from Colorado State University. Much of Badell’s early work focused on commercial arts; however, in 2017 he reignited his passion for painting. Badell’s artistic influences include Carlos Cruz Diez, Jesús Soto, and Robert Motherwell.

Artist Statement

Javier Badell’s work oscillates between randomness and control. By mixing different paint colors and pouring them onto the canvas, Badell gives way to liquid densities and gravity. He retakes control with meticulous color selection and controlled brush strokes to blend and stretch. He aims to create chromatic discoveries that stimulate the senses.

Badell’s use of bold colors was inherited from his equatorial hometown (Maracaibo, Venezuela) affectionately named “La Tierra del Sol Amada” (The Beloved Land of the Sun). There, light beams shine almost perpendicular, penetrating life in the most honest of colors.

Badell seeks happy disasters created by pigment mixtures as well as intentional self-expression. Embracing uncertainty while intentionally pushing colors around. He balances a lack of control while remaining an agent of change, which he believed epitomizes the human condition.

Embracing the duality of accepting uncertainty and living a distinct and meaningful life is Badell’s artistic frontier.

Action and inaction. Freedom and constraint.