This week our one minute interview is with MA Fine Art 2013 graduate Rodolfo Villaplana from Venezuela. Rodolfo’s exciting new London based solo show called The Naked and The Nude which opens in a matter of hours.
Sleeping by Rodolfo Villaplana
Here’s a little more info about Rodolfo, his time and Chelsea and continuing climb towards artistic greatness:
Describe your Chelsea experience in 3 words? More than positive
What do you enjoy most about studying at Chelsea? I really enjoyed sharing time and knowledge with fellow artists. We shared studio spaces so we could deeply see each other evolve. I found this very stimulating as we were all experimenting with new ways of transforming and developing our work. There was sort of a general challenge that I accepted and that made me feel in a stronger position regarding my work.
The Surprise at Pimlico by Rodolfo Villaplana
How did you enjoy living in London? As a London based artist, this city offers me the possibility to be in contact every day with the very best and the newest of the art world. I can measure my possibilities as an artist with that… It’s a privilege as a contemporary artist to have such an incredible variety of cultural offers in one place.
Where did you live in London when you studied at Chelsea? Barons Court Road, London
What was your neighbourhood like? Pretty and central
Where do you live now? Oval, London
Banana Skin by Rodolfo Villaplana
What was your greatest challenge on the course and how did you overcome it? To develop my art and take it to another level. I dedicated the course to realise big format canvases where I could finally achieve this new way of transforming the background into pure colour and to suspend the figure as I am a figurative painter.
What has been your greatest challenge in your professional life since then and how have you overcome it? My new solo debut in the 20th century theatre and my recent solo show in Venice, are both very important for me. For this show in London we have the support of the MOCA museum of contemporary art and private sponsors. The space of the theatre is just massive and my big format canvases fit very well in this sort of space. We will open during FRIEZE.
What are your greatest achievements/awards/exhibitions? The Naked and the Nude:My new solo debut in London, showcasing my most recent work about the psychological possibilities of the portraiture from real life.
Self-Portrait with Blue Sky by Rodolfo Villaplana