Artists
Andrea Villalón
Andrea Villalón lives and works in London, UK. Her figurative paintings and stained glass works emerge from a highly personal and transformative exploration of identity, representation and self-reflection in the 21st Century. Every painting is considered a self-portrait and is reflective of Villalón's personal experience. While reminiscent of Mexican masters such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo in both her portrayal of the everyday and the symbology of objects, Villalón also utilises her practise as a kind of psychological investigation more akin to how Pedro Reyes use and promotes therapy as an agent for positive and enlightening change.
"I live for the moments when I feel real, aware, present, part of this world and owner of my skin. I've discovered that for me to be able to reach this state of harmony and synchronicity, first I have to know who I am; which I think I do, but whenever I paint, something unexpected and unknown reveals in front of me. It's my subconscious sublimating. It's the inside projecting itself on the outside, it gives me a little glimpse of what's going on with me and it also works as a record of who I am at every age.
The images end up being like the results of a blood test, the elements in them are universal symbols I later translate, I am a doctor and not an artist, now I know how to cure myself." - Andrea Villalón
Villalón is also the founder of the platform @Conchaelectrica, which gives voice to other Latin American female artists and will also play a role in Brigade's upcoming solo exhibition with Italian artist Bianca Menna, who also focuses on the promotion of underserved female artists. Villalón is currently also represented by Machete gallery in Mexico City. Her solo exhibition The Shelter of Meaning at Brigade will be her European solo exhibition debut.
