Women’s voices in art have historically united two powerful qualities: independence and nurturing. And while those may appear to be opposing forces at first, they are both integral to the female artists’ work.
These qualities are certainly clear in the collections of two Latina artists, Laura Villanueva and Zahava Sherez, both of whom innately understand their power to create something that will only exist through their unique expression, perspective and vision.
They will share an exhibit at Casa del Sol Inn (Javier Mina 7 in Ajijic), with a meet-the-artists opening Friday November 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. Enjoy dinner by reservation afterward. Reservations: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 333-964-5320.
Laura Villanueva, painter
A native of Guadalajara, Villanueva was born into a creative family that encouraged self-expression from an early age. Her mother would decorate the walls of their home with images cut from magazines which Villanueva learned to copy by drawing and painting. Her early motivation was to create her own version of the cutouts well enough for her mother to proudly display them inside their home.
Eventually she would take more formal training at the Instituto Cultural Cabañas under the instruction of Francisco del Muro, who inspired young Villanueva through his great passion for the arts.
“My source of artistic inspiration has been life itself,” Villanueva says. “From my childhood I’ve always been a dreamer and since I was very small I wanted to create magic spaces, personages and histories that made me believe the world was different. Since then, fantasy has been an essential element of my work.”
Her collection of brightly colored paintings convey the power of elemental energy; watery elements flowing one into the other and blurring the lines between reality and illusion. “I believe that the artist’s nature is to create a world which reflects his or her own essence, that which you think, that which you create and that which you desire.”
Asked why she believes art is more important to the world than ever, she replies, “Creativity is one of human kind’s great capacities, has always existed and has always been manifested in the history of humanity. I would even say that because of this creativity, we have evolved. Art is the natural medium of human expression, which has transformed thanks to creativity. Today we are more conscious that this creativity makes us unique and different.”
Zahava Sherez, sculptor
Born in Argentina, Sherez was raised in Israel, something that deeply influences her work, which reflects her deep compassion for humanity and dedication to human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees around the world.
With a diverse and multicultural background, Sherez draws inspiration from realms beyond our daily experience. Identifying as a spiritual activist, she is dedicated to the creative process; allowing herself to be a conduit through which a timeless and deeply human truth is manifest. “Since the beginning of my art journey, the message behind my sculptures has been focused on the injustices toward people that have to relocate or flee, and the hardships they endure.”
Sherez’s art expresses a clear maternal quality by giving life to new possibility as a result of her experiences in the dream realm. “In 2017 I started having visions of light sculptures carrying messages of love appearing to me as abstract shapes. They carry a profound message about a new humanity – by perceiving ourselves as interconnected cells in a unified body, engulfed in an all-inclusive energetic field, we can transcend man-made divisions. This perspective invites us to embrace our shared destiny as a whole, our growth as a species, and the perpetuity of life energy.”
While recognizable as human forms, her sculptures are intentionally faceless, ageless, and without gender.
“Each sculpture is both no one and everyone exemplifying the message I learned all those years ago that we are, in fact, All One,”she says.
Sherez considers her “In-bodied Light” collection of sculptures to be a global traveling art project that has been displayed around the world and can be seen in Lakeside at the Casa del Sol Inn.