Biography
Few artists in Venezuela have the fortune to have the outright affection and admiration of the city where they were born, as expressed by Barquisimeto and its citizens for the Master Jesus Armando Villalón.
Born in the capital of Lara state, on July 6th, 1945, in the midst of a middle class family. The well known landscaper, dabbled in the arts of being a parent, having built a solid economic stability, thanks to his business skills. However, those deserved achievements, product of hard work for the welfare of his family, not daunted his deepest youthful desire to be a painter. Close
to turning 30 years old in 1974, Villalón began his formal training in the arts and enrolled at the Art Studio of Artist Ramon Diaz Lugo, one of the most consistent disciples of the master Rafael Monasterios, who is considered as part of the forerunners of landscape movement in Venezuela, in the early twentieth century.
Almost immediately, the young Villalón demonstrated extraordinary qualities to recreate the landscape. Disciplined in his lessons, but without pawning his plastic convictions, quickly he managed to define his own style, characterized by strong and short stroke. This style is inspired by the Impressionist masters of Europe, wich Villalón had the opportunity to study in depth, thanks to the unconditional support of his wife Ysabel, who along with her two small children, did not hesitate to embark with the artist on a journey to complete his artistic training in the old continent.
In 1981, the master Villalon arrived in the Spanish capital, where he took classes in drawing and painting at the prestigious Arjona study and in the printing workshop and engraving of Madrid. By then the work of "Rio Turbio Painter" was widely known in the main cities of Venezuela, like Caracas, Valencia, Maracay, Maracaibo and Barquisimeto, his hometown, where he won galleries and exhibition centers of high prestige.
But once again, his natural discontent led him away from the comfort of fame, to continue the relentless pursuit of excellence. This journey had begun in Spain with the meticulous study of the Impressionists, especially the Iberian painters Joaquin Sorolla y Joaquín Mir, whose work he confesses captive, at this stage of his life. The learning experience in Europe, was completed by his brief but intense passing through Paris, London, Munich and Amsterdam, always in the footsteps of the great masters of universal art.
Back in Venezuela, in the mid-80s, Villalon matures his stroke. After arduous inquiries into the shades of light in the succeeding 30 years, he manages to consolidate as laureate creator of atmospheres. His palette is as genuine as color, so quickly was savaged by critics and collectors with the title: “Painter of the mist”.
As expected, the overwhelming scenes of indecipherable skies, or the intoxicating wealth of sensations that generate their enclosed spaces, soon arouse the interest of galleries, museums and exhibition halls across the country. Although the master Villalón never saw himself as a hunter awards, the achievements of these spaces and artistic confrontations in which decided to participate, claimed the landscape in the national art scene and beyond their latitudes.
Restless and persevering investigator, Villalón constantly innovates and never settle for with ease. His work is the result of a disciplined, formal work and planned that ensured the plastic consistency necessary to be exalted as a master. The four decades of experience he has, make him a national benchmark of contemporary art and landscape Venezuelan ambassador, because his work is widely coveted and valued in other countries, especially in the United States.