Edward Tengwall
Alec Duerr
Joanna M. Szpernoga
Raul Villarreal
Raul Villarreal was a Latin-American artist who drew heavily upon the pulls that he felt coming from two different sides of his life. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1964, Villarreal and his family moved to Union City, New Jersey when he was 7. He had over 15 years of experience as an artist and was featured in a number of exhibitions and collaborative projects. He has been credited for the creation of various art initiatives and shows, including Grupo-Neo-Latino, the Neo Latino: 21st Century Latino Art, and the Neo Latino: Critical Mass to name a few. Villarreal wanted to widen the array of art styles and viewpoints and worked to provide a space for artists who had come from a variety of backgrounds. He was THE driving force behind the creation of the Neo-Latino Collective.
Ambos Mundos, oil on linen. n.d. https://neolatinocollective.com/raul-villarreal
Villareal’s artistic viewpoint came from his memories of living and growing up in Cuba, Spain, and the United States. He liked to play with the assimilation of cultures, specifically the relationship between American and Latino culture, using mass media motifs and pop culture iconography. His work was incredibly spiritual and surreal, painting in the style of Duende, a specific aesthetic that derives from Federico Garcia-Lorca’s essay, Play and the Theory of the Duende.
The style leans into the theory of artists being inspired by memory and non-memory, forgetfulness and the attempts to remember these things. Villarreal wanted to use this style to apply his personal memories, photographs, and personal iconography to layer multiple realities, time references, and existence. He created pieces that tell the story of an artist who lives in two different realities at the same time, using cultures and images to represent that. A piece can include anything ranging from surreal landscapes, self portraits, pop-culture imagery, and social commentary, either separate, or all together in one.
Superman, Where Are You Now? n.d. Oil on canvas. https://neolatinocollective.com/raul-villarreal
In July of 2019, Raul Villarreal died unexpectedly at the age of 55. Though we grieve the loss of this talent, our group was fortunate enough to gain the opportunity to interview Ricardo Fonseca, a close friend of Villarreal’s. Taking the time to talk to him, we managed to gain a glimpse into the inner workings of Villarreal’s artistic process. Mr. Fonseca answered our questions via email.
Q: How did Mr. Villarreal come to join the Neo-Collective? How did his work fit into his own objectives?
A: Raúl Villarreal didn’t join the Neo-Latino Collective — he FOUNDED it, and he did so while pursuing his master’s degree in Fine Arts (MFA) at New Jersey City University (NJCU). Dr. José Rodeiro whom I’ve sent you contact info on, would know specific dates and the development process of conceptualizing such a group through the lenses of Raúl — this, because Dr. Rodeiro was Raúl’s mentor and then became his close friend.
Q: Was Mr. Villarreal’s artistic style influenced by any specific artists?
A: All artists, dead and living, are most certainly influenced by specific artists. I don’t know specifically what artists Raúl appreciated — this would be a question better suited for Dr. Rodeiro (he would know, for sure), however, I do know that Raúl was also a graphic designer by trade, not just an artist, and this fusion of artist and graphic designer is evident in his artwork because in my view his paintings look like they were “designed” first, and then painted. Raúl was also fond of the Duende Art movement and Dr. Rodeiro can tell you more about that, since he has written extensively about Duende Art. Here is a link to Raúl’s Duende Art:
Isla de Oshun, 2019. Oil on canvas. https://neolatinocollective.com/raul-villarreal
A: Did Mr. Villarreal’s geographic location play any sort of role or influence his own artwork?
A: Absolutely. Because Raúl was born in Cuba, then immigrated to Spain, and later to the United States, he always had a longing for his native Cuba. This is evident in his artwork with scenery of a tropical island, or painting tiny paintings in Cuban cigar boxes (look at his artwork on his website). Dr. Rodeiro can also provide you with more in-depth views on this question.
Q: Was Mr. Villarreal always trying to convey a certain message or messages within
his artwork?
A: All artists try to convey a message in their artwork, even if that message is one of nothingness, emptiness, or the void. But, for Raúl, at the core of his artwork were topics of identity, multiculturalism and transculturalism. Dr. Rodeiro can elaborate more on this question as well.
Q: Did Mr. Villarreal’s artwork always speak with the current social and political issues of the time?
A: Raúl’s more political artwork, however subtle on the surface, but quietly potent for the viewer that took the time to dissect, did have socio-political issues at hand. Hence if you look at the Neo-Latino Collective guiding principles below, one can see the social and the political in it and therefore, directly or indirectly, through its artists and their respective artworks:
1. Neo-Latinos value artistic inclusivity
2. Neo-Latinos cherish aspirational socio-cultural aesthetic ideals.
3. Neo-Latinos aspire toward the possibility of an artistic community and an aesthetic movement linked by Pan-Latino cultural solidarity.
4. Neo-Latinos conceptually acknowledge the fluid and conditional aspects of cultural and national identity formation.
5. Neo-Latinos seek a cultural amalgam, which is characterized by transcultural fertilization, artistic evolution, and the sedimentary “visual” fusion of diverse cultural symbols and elements.
6. Neo-Latinos strive to present a more complex, prismatic vision of Latino/a subjectivity and consciousness through the lens of visual culture.
Q: What did Mr. Villarreal want his audience to feel or think about after viewing his work?
A: Many of his artworks are perplexing and yearn for the viewer to contemplate what is being visually witnessed right before their eyes. Some feature a sense of multiple realities, time references, and existence. Dr. Rodeiro can elaborate more on this question.
Q: Did Mr. Villarreal’s artwork style change over the years?
A: Yes, absolutely. The artist whose artistic style does not change over the years is the artist who is already dead artistically — meaning, like everything else in life, an artist’s artwork must also evolve, or the artist is doing something very terribly wrong. The evolution of Raúl’s artwork can be much better explained chronologically by Dr. Rodeiro.
Q: Do you feel Mr. Villarreal had any responsibilities as an artist? Such as conveying a certain message or appearing a certain way to the public.
Yes, absolutely, and hence he founded the Neo-Latino Collective which I’ve listed the guiding principles above.
Q: Do you think if Mr. Villarreal was still here with us today, he would have a piece of advice to give to future artists/creatives? If so what do you believe it would be?
A: Raúl gave me much advice over the years regarding my artwork, my graphic design work, and my professional career in general. Mind you, I am 12 years younger than Raúl was, and so, I did look up to him for his artist wisdom and advice on matters related to my career. One of the things he would always tell me is to keep creating work… regardless of life’s chores and how busy life may get. Creating work (spending time at his studio), was important to him and he relished in his creations and the time he invested in them. Raúl was a mentor figure to me and I believe the above advice he gave to me, about keeping creating more work, would still be applicable to beginner and junior artists.
Landscape in Exile, oil on linen. n.d. http://www.raulvillarreal.com/page22.html
Villarreal was an artist who delivered an incredibly unique and interesting artistic viewpoint. Thanks to Ricardo Fonseca we were able to see just what it was that Villarreal was trying to tell his audience and what his art meant to him. We were all very lucky to have Fonseca here to answer our questions and we are incredibly grateful for his aid. To have this link into the mind of Villarreal’s beautiful and surreal style is a chance that we will not let go to waste.