↑Junior Jiménez was born on July 16, 1967, in Paterson, New Jersey to Puerto Rican parents. When he was four years old, his family moved to Camuy, Puerto Rico. From early childhood, he was intrigued by traditional Catholic iconography, particularly the religious carvings of the Cabán family, as well as the Spanish Colonial architecture found on the island. Later in life, the combination of these elements would become the defining influence of his body of work.He attended La Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan Puerto Rico and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Kean University in New Jersey. His career in advertising as a creative became the springboard that launched his career in the visual arts.Besides the religious iconography of the Spanish Colonial period, Junior finds inspiration in the works of Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico, with his desolate piazzas, classical facades and Greco-Roman statues; Guatemalan photographer Luis González Palma, who captures the essence of native Guatemalans in sepia tones; and Puerto Rican folk art, which blends cultural influences from Spanish, Taino and African art.