Darío Villalba was born in San Sebastián in 1934. Born into a family with a long artistic tradition, the artist-to-be flourished in this nurturing environment. But, it was not just his artistic abilities that prospered – at the age of 11, while his father was serving at the Spanish consulate in Philadelphia, he discovered ice skating. This triggered a passion that took Villalba all the way to the 1956 Winter Olympics, where he represented his country in ice skating.
In 1952, he exhibited his works for the first time, at the Alfil Gallery in Madrid, and embarked on his academic training journey, enrolling at the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1957, Villalba settled in Paris, where he worked in André Lhote’s workshop. In the French capital, he embraced the medium of painting, its techniques and its local avant-garde masters.
In 1962, he received a scholarship to study at Harvard University, which involved a series of exhibitions in the USA. On this trip, he toured a selection of series-based works on the themes of the Duchess of Alba, and fossils, torsos and footprints. Five years later, he travelled to London, where he developed his photographic practice. This medium grew more and more important in his creative process. In the 1970s, painting was replaced by more singular means. Photographs are displayed in intricate Perspex constructions. The images are snapshots of marginal individuals. This encapsulated series was a stepping-stone in his international recognition.
Among the awards punctuating Villalba’s career include: International Painting Prize at the XII São Paulo Biennial (1973); International Jury Prize at the XIII Biennial of Graphic Art in Ljubljana (1979); National Award for Plastic Arts (1983); Medal of Merit in Fine Arts (2003).
Staple exhibitions include: Darío Villalba 1964-1994, an anthological exhibition held at the Valencian Institute of Modern Art, Valencia (1994); Basic Documents 1957-2001, Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo (1994); the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art (2001); a retrospective exhibition of his work from 1957 to 2007 at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2007); Witness Documentary (2014); The power of the image in Darío Villalba, Freijo Gallery, Madrid (2014); I, presented at the Sala Alcalá 31, Madrid (2019).
