Dario Villalba

DARIO VILLALBA (San Sebastian, 1939-2018).
"Scissors and fossil", 1965
Oil and spray on paper adhered to cardboard.
Signed and titled.
Measurements: 50 x 76 cm.
Darío Villaba was a painter and photographer. He used mixed techniques between both arts, and became internationally known at the Venice Biennial in 1970. These photographs become the pictorial base, and are obtained by the artist or made by himself. His family has an outstanding artistic tradition, and he began to exhibit in 1957 in Madrid, the city where he studied (San Fernando School of Fine Arts; Law, which he abandoned; Philosophy and Letters). In 1958 he moved to Paris to further his education, and a scholarship from the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation allowed him to study at Harvard University from 1962, thanks to which he was able to exhibit his works in the United States. Five years later he put painting aside and took black and white photographs; he also began his trips to London, which were a source of important urban photographs in his career. A few years later he would take up painting again, and would end up integrating photography and this support, figuration and abstraction, in the 80s. He was named Academician of San Fernando, and in 1984 he was awarded the National Prize for Plastic Arts, recognitions that join others of importance, such as the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2002), for example.
His work can be seen in important private collections and institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Juan March Foundation, the IVAM, etc. In addition, it has been shown in cities all over the world: Geneva, Lausanne, Paris, Amsterdam, Canberra, Rotterdam, Vitoria, Tenerife, Massachusetts, Cleveland, Santander, Zaragoza, Rome, Barcelona, Mexico City, etc.