Jan Díez

JAN DÍEZ (Tudela, Navarre, 1954).
Untitled.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 146 x 114 cm; 147 x 115 x 2 cm (frame).

Still life is the most recognizable genre in Jan Díez’s body of work, especially prior to his recent focus on portraiture. Within this genre, the artist has focused much of his exploration on the optical qualities of glass and the way light transforms everyday objects—an aspect that was the focus of his 2014 exhibition at the Pabellón de Mixtos in the Ciudadela of Pamplona.

The work fully embodies this artistic language. The three large demijohns take on an almost monumental presence thanks to their scale and the precise study of transparencies, reflections, and chromatic overlays. The light that passes through the green glass and falls upon the wood transforms a still life of simple objects into an exercise in pictorial observation, while the rigorous construction of the space and the meticulous treatment of the surfaces reveal the artist’s solid figurative training.

A graduate of the University of the Basque Country with a degree in Fine Arts, Jan Díez has combined artistic creation with teaching for decades. His career has been particularly linked to Navarre, with institutional exhibitions at the Ciudadela in Pamplona and the Muñoz Sola Museum of Modern Art in Tudela, where he has participated in various shows and held solo exhibitions in 2023 and 2025.