20th Century Spanish

After studying Fine Arts in Madrid, Joven created a body of work underpinned by the use of an abstract vocabulary which lent the utmost importance to backgrounds rich and dense in matter, as well as to the relationship between those backgrounds and the motifs set against them. Signs like the cross, sails or the circle are recurrent in his work.

Since 1982, Joven’s work has been distinguished in Spain with awards like the Francisco Alcántara Prize from the Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid in 1982, or the Painting Award at the 1987 Ciudad de Pamplona Visual Arts Biennial, among others.

His works have been seen in solo and group exhibitions in Spain and abroad, including Japan, a country where he exhibited in 1991 and from which Joven drew inspiration for some of his works.