Today, we have an appointment with Antonio Villanueva, the Toledo-born artist and designer of the cover of the magazine ‘Festes de Jesús’. We meet him in his ‘Nave’, formerly an old cold storage room for meat that is currently his studio. As you walk into the studio, which is opposite the harbour on the entry to Ibiza Town, you are immediately struck by his abstract expressionist paintings juxtaposed with ancient meat scales, empty canvases and a vast array of painting implements. “La Nave was one of my projects back in 2004. I wanted to relocate the hub of my work here and later on I decided to establish a cultural centre to promote various projects as well,” Antonio Villanueva tells us. And indeed, the painter turned these ideas into reality and now works on his art in the warehouse alongside music and dance groups and other artists.
Villanueva, who also engraves and sculpts, shows us one of his original pieces made from synthetic resin which has Ibicencan Posidonia sprouting from the centre. But back to his pictures which, as he explains, definitely have traits of action painting and are characterised by ‘visuals and voids’. His works of art are clearly influenced by the Ibicencan countryside and Pablo Picasso, but above all, by Taoist philosophy. “The empty spaces in my paintings have a meaning: they are meant to stimulate the viewer’s imagination. I really want the people who view my paintings to come up with their own interpretations. Just as in Taoism, my empty spaces have a purpose,” emphasises Villanueva.
After studying in Madrid and Paris, the artist travelled around the world to exhibit his works in various European countries and in America. But he found his true home here on the Island after being completely captivated by it on his first visit in 1968. And in any case, his two daughters were born here in Ibiza. Antonio Villanueva is an intellectual bohemian, and he joins the ranks of the many others who have lived on the Island in the past and endowed it with extraordinary cultural wealth. This is the reason that the painter moved to Santa Eulària des Riu several years ago and, through Sandy’s Bar, the popular meeting place, made contact with many characters and artists, amongst them Terry Thomas, Susan and Denholm Elliott, Ángela Molina, Diana Rigg, Robert Sheckley, Graham Coughtry, Ian Galbraith, Bechtold, Urculo, Dimitrenko, Monreal and Elmir De Hory.
His works of art have developed and matured with time to become more simplified and to surprise us with flashes of colour. At the end of the day, Villanueva, just like his canvases, is a simple, straightforward man who loves life. However, to truly get to know this artist, you have to pay more attention to the pauses in his speech, for in Taoist philosophy silence speaks louder than words.
© 2012 PITIUSA MEDIA GROUP S.L.U.
