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Etching 49 / 50
Signed and numbered 47,5 x 37,5 cm 2009 Price: € |
BIOGRAPHY OF GUILLERMO PÉREZ VILLALTA (1948):
Guillermo Pérez Villalta, born in Tarifa (Cádiz) in 1948, embarked on the journey of architecture initially but eventually abandoned it to pursue a career in painting.
In 1975, Pérez Villalta was granted a scholarship by the Ministry of Culture, followed by another one from the Juan March Foundation in 1980. Subsequently, he received a scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study at the Spanish Academy in Rome.
Pérez Villalta is known for his meticulous and elaborate works that defy established art movements. His keen interest in fauna and mythology infuses his paintings with a fantastical yet realistic quality.
His artistic style is highly literary, consistently drawing from classical myths and legends. In terms of form, he intricately crafts his pieces, almost akin to embroidered religious imagery. Notably, his self-portrait is a recurring element in his work, often immersed in the hidden symbolism surrounding the depicted characters.
Pérez Villalta was part of the New Madrid Figuration movement in the 1980s, a group that advocated for a return to painting amidst the prevailing conceptualist trends. His work also reflects the politicization of painting during that decade. In "Evolución" (Evolution), he explores the theme of the origin of man, his isolation, and ultimate essence, using the metaphor of a fossilized nautilus. The nautilus, a creature drifting to the rhythm of currents, serves as a metaphor for man’s evolution and future, lost in the infinite and his own arithmetic.