Publication wrote on October 6, 2018 in the printed edition of Cultura/s of La Vanguardia about “Frida, a sangre” from the artist Pedro García Villegas.

Translation, press review 

Frida Kahlo and the paper (By Sònia Hernández, art critic)

The work of Pedro García Villegas, who was born in Albacete in 1961 but lives in Catalonia since 1967, exemplifies that nostalgia that has been pointed out as a prominent feature of the collective thought or imagination of our time. His nostalgia gives off optimism and seeks the recovery of some of the glamour of times now perceived as more splendid. He himself assures that he feels “more identified” and that “aesthetically I am very attracted to the 50s and the 60s: the yellowish photos, the fashion, the aesthetics of the people, the furniture …”. Marilyn Monroe, Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn or the Beatles are some of the icons whose portraits he has reproduced.

To compose his collages, he uses sheets of old magazines, especially Paris Match, found in French markets. The yellowish paper, some cut out phrases, the graphics and the typographies of the time increase the information with which one wants to almost always reconstruct a face: “The human figure is what interests me the most; and it’s been like that since I was little”. The painting occupies a secondary position or, even, sometimes disappears leaving space to numerous layers of paper. The technique caught his attention when he worked as a lawyer with an art dealer who represented an artist who used it. He tried to do it himself and turned it into his artistic language.

Now he has focused on Frida Kahlo; her figure attracted him for its aesthetic value and her symbolic status. After learning to compose a thematic series, he found in her “a fascinating character, full of contrasts, who knew how to overcome all calamities”. García Villegas has never made a self-portrait, although he recognizes that, as in any artwork, in all the pieces in which he has recreated different life stages of Frida Kahlo, he can hide some of his own traits; “There are people who have told me that I look like Frida,” he laughs. I believe that I am a much more contained person than her, but in any case, there are things in which I would like to be like her, for her vitality. For continuing to be an artist, living and loving above all, regardless of who you want, when you want or how you want. This is what fascinates me the most”.

The keys

THE AUTHOR. From law education, he considers himself self-taught. He is particularly interested in the aesthetics of the 50s and 60s. His work is part of collections such as the Bassat and the Vila Casas Foundation.

THE WORK. He uses paper from old magazines on wood because the canvas would not resist the pressure of the paper layers. Since the beginning he has specialized his work in portraits, often cultural icons.

PHOTO CAPTION Pedro García Villegas among several of his works inspired by Frida Kahlo