“Through my art, I seek to reflect on human vulnerability, memory, and the delicate interplay between the real and the imagined, creating spaces where the tangible and intangible coexist.”
From Guatemala’s Soul to Surreal Realities
Rocío Villanueva, a fine art photographer and artist, creates works that traverse the boundaries of surrealism and conceptual storytelling. Her roots in Guatemala, a land vibrant with tradition, natural wonders, and the allure of magical realism, profoundly influence her artistic identity. Surrounded by breathtaking landscapes of volcanoes, dense rainforests, and mountains, Villanueva developed a reverence for nature and a curiosity about the intangible mysteries of life. These elements infuse her work with a distinct sense of wonder and an otherworldly quality.
A pivotal inspiration in her art has been the profound personal grief of losing her daughter, Marisol. Themes of transformation, rebirth, and memory find their way into Villanueva’s pieces, blending the personal with the universal. Her imagery reflects the surreal atmosphere of her homeland, where the lines between reality and imagination blur, providing fertile ground for exploring the interplay of the seen and unseen.
Villanueva’s artistic journey began with the guidance of her great-uncle, who introduced her to drawing, painting, and photography. Though self-taught, her practice has evolved into a sophisticated visual language rooted in dreams and subconscious imagery. Her works, layered with fragility and strength, evoke introspection, inviting viewers to connect with the transformative potential of storytelling and the ethereal essence of human experience.
Rocío Villanueva: The Art of Transforming Grief into Beauty
For Villanueva, art serves as both a refuge and a form of expression for the indescribable. Following the tragic loss of her daughter Marisol, her creative process became deeply intertwined with her grieving journey. One of her most significant works, Angerona, embodies this transformation. The self-portrait, created before Marisol’s passing, eerily foreshadowed the tragedy, making it a piece of extraordinary personal and symbolic significance. The medallion bearing Marisol’s photograph, worn by Villanueva in the portrait, transforms the work into a heartfelt tribute.
The name Angerona is inspired by the Roman goddess associated with silence and the suppression of cries to avert misfortune. This motif reflects Villanueva’s own experience with grief, where unspoken emotions carry a heavy weight. The work’s visual elements—including antique garments with spiritual undertones and a mask reminiscent of both ancestral rituals and the pandemic—imbue the piece with timeless, universal significance.
Villanueva meticulously crafts every element of her imagery, from the red and cyan hues to the Edwardian-inspired wardrobe and symbolic lighting. Through Angerona, she transforms anguish into resilience, creating a visual prayer that resonates deeply. This work exemplifies her ability to channel personal pain into universal narratives, capturing profound human truths while honoring her daughter’s memory.
Channeling Spirituality Through Symbolism
Villanueva’s distinctive artistic style combines surreal photography with the poetic essence of painting. Her works often incorporate metaphorical imagery, blending the tangible with the ethereal to explore themes of beauty, loss, and the subconscious. Inspired by magical realism, her photographs blur reality’s edges, inviting viewers into dreamlike realms where vulnerability and memory intertwine.
Symbolism plays a central role in Villanueva’s creations, shaped by the influence of renowned artists like Eugenio Recuenco, Brooke Shaden, and Alphonse Mucha. Recuenco’s cinematic approach to photography inspires her narrative compositions, while Shaden’s introspective and ethereal aesthetics echo in her exploration of human emotions. Mucha’s romantic, spiritually infused Art Nouveau style informs Villanueva’s use of graceful lines and layered meaning. These inspirations converge in her work, enabling her to craft visual poems that evoke the unseen layers of human experience.
Photography, Villanueva’s chosen medium, allows her to manipulate reality and infuse it with dreamlike qualities. Her creative process incorporates sketching, meditation, and channeling spiritual guidance, which she believes connects her with universal truths. Drawing on these practices, Villanueva creates works that transcend the visible, guiding viewers through transformative journeys of self-discovery and higher consciousness.
Rocío Villanueva: Navigating the Blue
Villanueva’s ongoing series, Los Exploradores del Azul (The Explorers of the Blue), epitomizes her artistic exploration of grief and rebirth. Conceived after the loss of her daughter, the series delves into the depths of sorrow, capturing the transformative process of healing through symbolic and surreal imagery. Each piece represents a personal voyage, blending lucid dreams, meditation, and subconscious exploration into visual narratives.
The series takes its name from the metaphorical blue flame of grief—a painful yet illuminating force that burns through the artist’s soul. Villanueva describes her journey through grief as traversing a vast, frozen expanse, where time feels suspended in a void of sadness. Through her art, she channels this experience into a celebration of resilience and metamorphosis, drawing on her spiritual connection to navigate the delicate balance between loss and renewal.
In Los Exploradores del Azul, Villanueva invites viewers to confront their own experiences of grief and transformation. The series serves as both a personal catharsis and a universal testament to the enduring power of the human spirit. Through her evocative and introspective imagery, Villanueva crafts a sacred space where pain becomes beauty, and the infinite blue of sorrow transforms into the vastness of hope.
