Today we’d like to introduce you to Victorio Villa.
Victorio, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Where do I start? Well, I pretty much lived in San Diego my whole life. Started making art as a kid drawing typical kid stuff like copying Disney and comic book characters. Started skateboarding around 84 and thats when my art became more influenced by 80’s board graphics. Probably around 91-92, a friend of mine introduced me to the SD graff scene. Was never really good at it, you know just simple tags throwups. Fast forward to 2008 after years of Fvckin around I finally decided I wanted to pursue art as a profession and signed up at City college downtown. It was there I met Wayne Hulgin, my professor in painting/drawing. Those were the years my whole outlook on art changed. Learning composition, color theory, and various traditional techniques helped me progress. It was when I took a few semesters of independent study that I started to incorporate the graff techniques I learned on the streets. Probably my last year of college an old friend introduced me to Thumbprint Gallery, and I’ve been working with them ever since. It was through their shows I ended up meeting a ton of other artists and curators. I’ve still got a ways to go, but it’s been a killer ride so far.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I guess my art would be considered Urban Contemporary Abstract. I paint and make wood/mixed media sculptural pieces. When I first started making these pieces, they were loosely based on maps from cities I’ve traveled to, but now they’ve slowly evolved, incorporating some architectural and graffiti elements found in the urban environment. I guess if you look hard enough even the grimiest most raw urban environments can inspire a kind of balance and beauty.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
Honestly none of that really has an affect on my art. If anything creating is a way for me to mentally escape all the bullshit happening these days.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I’ve been showing my work thru Thumbprint gallery for probably nine years now as well as working with Visual and La Bodega. I currently have a show up at obrArchitecture in Northpark that runs till July 12th. I also have a show I’m currently working on that will be at Thumbprint Gallery opening July 13th. You can find some of my murals in Subterranean coffee boutique in Northpark and Hillcrest as well as various other places around San Diego.
Contact Info:
- Website: victoriovilla.com
- Phone: 6193573758
- Email: vctorvilla84@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/monstersandrobots
Image Credit:
Victorio Villa
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.
