Villasierra

"VILLASIERRA" MARIO VILLARROEL (Venezuela, 1970).
"Piccolo", 2023-2024.
Mixed media (burlap, trompetin, oil and metal) on board.
Frame made by the author.
Signed and dated in the lower right area. Signed, dated and titled on the back.
Measurements: 50 x 60 x 10 cm.
Villasierra is the archetypal case of a self-taught artist who explored other fields before devoting himself to art full time. A lawyer by training, he also ventured into the world of motorcycles, manufacturing and customizing them, which became a new field of work where he explored his creativity and fostered his interest in mechanisms beyond their primary function.
His artistic production began in the 1990s and since then he has produced a considerable body of work. Some of it demonstrates his interest in recycling, in giving a second chance and function to discarded objects. With this idea in mind, she goes on excursions to antique markets and accumulates an unimaginable treasure trove. From this approach and his love for music, musical instruments found a place in his work. A good example is one of his most acclaimed series, The Second Life, which he developed mainly between 2016-2018. Among the instruments used in this series are violins. Villasierra explained that the first was inspired by a political act of resistance in his native country. In 2017, a young violinist, Wuilly Arteaga, confronted the Venezuelan army, alone with his violin, during a revolt. This act of bravery moved Villasierra, who took an old violin and painted it in the colors of the flag as a tribute to the musician's bravery and as a wake-up call to what was happening in his country. To create these works he visits the music departments of public art schools and takes the discarded violins in exchange for new ones that he buys and donates to the schools. Thus, the old ones become part of his work, while the new ones he replaces in the hands of the children.