By Soledad Novoa Donoso
Published in the brochure of the exhibition, Crossing by Hector Villarroel, at the Center for Latin American Studies, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
With this new exhibit we may once again talk about Hector Villarroel's technique. Although not directly referenced on the canvas, the background of Villarroel and his works, in my opinion, speaks two us about two things: the oneness of the paintings that goes beyond the places of their creations, and a certain nomadism that is necessary to turn a work into a body of work.
The artist's passage through New York, Utah, Brussels, California, Barcelona, Madrid and Santiago show the importance of movement, of place, and of physical stability to the artist. They speak of the tactical problem of crossing borders, the problems of circulating art and engaging in trade. They also speak of the wider phenomenon of the nomadic artist.
One can speak about the problem of material survival, but for Villarroel, finding oneself is the most fundamental part of the journey, and his search is played out on the canvas. In this sense, perhaps more than being an explorative journey of the possibilities of image, Villarroel's works are an explosion of the potentials of painting.
Villarroel's works mature and transform through the atmospheric exterior landscape-- the seasons, the vagaries of light and heat, and the darkness of winter-- just as they do through the painter's personal relations with each city.
Although Villarroel does not speak directly about globalization, multiculturalism, or power relations in contemporary art, in some way his stamp speaks -more subtly than provocatively- about the possible circulation of a work that is outside the mainstream, transforming his work into a gesture of survival as well as a political act.
