Argentinian painter Sol Villanueva envisions art as a testimony; a tool to document people, places, and times. Through self-portraits and reinterpretations of old family photographs, she develops an acutely personal oeuvre, crafting intimist scenes of intense candor. As an artist, Villanueva lays her body and her life bare in front of the canvas. She opens up the doors to her soul unreservedly, posing naturally without any embellishments. Yet, we feel comfortable in the company of Villanueva and her subjects. She exudes a quiet confidence that embraces us. She is telling us “I may not be perfect, but here I am, if you care to look closely.” Her paintings are enshrouded in an aura of mystery and melancholy. Like diffused dreams, they evoke ancestral memories; hanging on the edge between cognizance and oblivion.

Villanueva earned a BA in Visual Arts with a major in Painting from Universidad del Museo Social Argentino, in Buenos Aires. She completed residencies in Spain and Florence and worked with such acclaimed artists as Yolanda Zerboni and Albert Pinya and at the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art (MAMBA). In 2019, she participated in the Salón Provincial de Artes Visuales Florencio Molina Campos and won first prize in the Universidad de Belgrano a la Creación Artística awards, in the painting category.