THE ARTISTS INVOLVED
Maria Luisa de Villa
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Tropicos Eternos
In Tropicos Eternos, Maria Luisa de Villa presents a series of visual correspondences that explore the complex relationship existing between nature, culture and her own lived experiences, both in Mexico and Canada. Ideas of land, flora, habitat and migration are central to the artist’s work. Through the genre of drawing and the use of handmade papers, the artist produces a series of visual analogies that examine notions of ritual migration and movement between the ancestral and the contemporary. De Villa’s visual encounters of collective memory, cultural icons and sanctuaries of nature evoke layers of consciousness coalescing in the notion of place in a landscape of evolving relationships.
Bio - Maria Luisa de Villa
Maria Luisa de Villa (Merrifield) was active in the artistic community of Sudbury for 25 years. She participated in many exhibitions and events connected with the then LUMAC, Laurentian University Museum and Art Centre. Since 1974, de Villa has coordinated Mexico-Canada art forums and cultural exchanges. Acknowledged for her support and contributions in the arts, de Villa has received several awards and grants, she is founding member of the CCIE Hispanic international multidisciplinary festival of the arts held annually in Toronto. She has also worked in programming and community involvement with public galleries and museums. Represented by: Galería Arte de Oaxaca and Galería La Mano Mágica in Mexico. Her work is represented in private art collections in Mexico, Canada and the U.S.A. Maria Luisa de Villa is currently living and working in Oaxaca, Mexico.