«As an artist linked to New Expressionism movement, I base my work on humanism and spirituality; based on a predetermined concept. I take nature itself as a basis, nature impregnated with life that shines with its own light, reborn every day inside us with total freedom and fullness”
Victoria Márquez.
Victoria Márquez (Malaga, Spain). Visual Plastic Artist and painter linked to the artistic trend of «New Expressionism» born in Malaga, mentorized by Master Jorge Rando. She has a degree in Fine Arts. PhD at the University of Malaga (Spain). Among her various Publications and Presentations, it glimpses her line of research focused on art, her influence on the entrepreneurial culture, society, well-being of human beings and the control of emotions. Since 1982 Victoria has participated in various shows, biennials and art exhibitions in national and international galleries and museums. Her Works are present in various Institutions and Museums.
She has been interested in arts since she was a child, enrolling in the San Telmo School of Art in Malaga. Early Childhood Education Teacher, Music Teacher; She also studied at the Faculty of Psychology. And completed Superior University Studies in Mindfulness and Emotional Management (Madrid). She completed the studies of Fine Arts between Granada and Malaga´s Fine Arts Faculties Arts and Ph.D. She collaborates with the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana (UNINI) in Mexico, and Arecibo in Puerto Rico (USA), directing Doctoral Thesis for students of both Universities. She is part of the research group Hum816 Art and Literature, of EFOPEM, as well as various Innovation Projects belonging to the University of Malaga (Spain).
«Look straight ahead, even if you feel small, search, open a new door and start a new journey» (Victoria Márquez)
Among her various Publications and Presentations, it glimpses her line of research focused on art, her influence on the entrepreneurial culture, society, well-being of human beings and the control of emotions.
Since 1982 Victoria has participated in various shows, biennials and art exhibitions in national and international galleries and museums in Malaga, Marbella, Madrid, Cordoba, Palma de Mallorca, Jaen, Burgos, Bilbao, Huesca, Seville, Valencia, Cantabria, Toledo, Ourense, Huesca, Avila …; as international: France (Paris, Versailles), the USA (New York, Utah, Miami), Corea (Seoul), Ecuador (Manta), Mexico (Sinaloa y Baja California), Brasil (Rio Grande do Sul), Colombia, Cuba, Portugal (Faro, Lisbon, Porto), Peru, Chile, Romanie, Egypt (Luxor), Iran, Italy (Venice and Rome)Sweden (Stockholm, Göteborg, Öland) or Denmark (Bindslev), among others. As long as in Museums or Organizations such as the Customs Palace, in Malaga, in the MUPAM Museum (Museum of Municipal Heritage of Malaga), Museum of Contemporary Art in Jaén,Jorge Rando Museum , in the prestigious Exhibition Hall of the Society Economic Friends of the Country of Malaga. Also in MUDDI, (Julio Gavín Drawing Museum – Larrés Castle. Huesca) Historical Museum of Medina de Pomar (Burgos), San Clemente Cultural Center Museum (Toledo), Frida Kahlo (Mexico), Fantapia Museum (Korea) and in the Spanish National Library (Madrid).
She continues to work with various national and international galleries. She is the author of paintings for posters of processional exits of different brotherhoods of Holy Week in Malaga. She has done researches stays at the MUSMA Museum in Matera, Italy. She has also been as visit professor in the University of Fine Arts in Podgorica, Montenegro, as well as at the University of Physical Education in Warsaw: Faculty of Physical Education in Biała Podlaska (Poland). She is Guest of Honor by the Autonomous University of Sinaloa in Mexico, to represent Spain as Artist Speaker on International Women’s Day, and to Baja California through CETYS University. She visited in August 2019 with the entourage of the Jorge Rando Museum, as a disciple of the Master, the Qi Baishi Memory Museum in Xiangtan, (China).
She belongs to the Association 09, (National Association of Teachers of Drawing, Plastic Arts and EPV) RIEEB (International Network of Emotional Education and Well-being), ATEE (Association for Teacher Education in Europe), INSEA (the International Society for Education Through Art) to ProArte and Culture; AASA (Asociación Cultural Social Acción por el arte), To the Colectiva group (collective feminist cultural observatory), to AEPE (Spanish Association of Painters and Sculptors) and to PAS (Pace and Art Society)
Her works are present in various Institutions and Museums.
Victoria, your way of painting transmits peace and calmness to me. What can transmit those sensations simply with brushstrokes?
Because brushstrokes are actions and actions are what touches people’s hearts.
When the artist gives brushstrokes with strength and, above all, with true feeling, loving that canvas that is in creative transformation, he transmits your inner self.
If you put all your heart into each brushstroke, they form a whole and they speak for themselves.
What were your motivations for dedicating yourself to the art world and what influenced you to opt for Neo-Expressionism?
I have always been linked to Art since I was a little girl, my father was a draughtsman and he had all the tools he needed in his desk, I always looked at them with respect and admiration.
My grandfather was also a violinist and orchestra conductor, and although I did not get to know him, I did know his violin and his scores, I loved to look at him with admiration and respect!
But, what really opened the doors for me, and with it my future vision as a painter, was a school activity. As is logical, I loved the drawing subjects; When I was little I always went with my little blue bag with the white and red rubber bands with my sheets, pencils and colors, I was accompanied by my little bag so I could draw whenever I wanted. But one day, when I was in sixth grade, the teacher told us to make two little acrylic paintings, and I did them on a board. They were my first steps and, since then, they captivated me so much that I have not let go of the brushes, at certain times more or less, depending on life circumstances, but I have always been connected to art in one way or another.
Regarding the link with the New Expressionism, indicate that it was in 2008, when entering the exhibition hall of the Rectorate of Malaga, I saw an exhibition of the Master Jorge Rando on the «Passion of Jesus». Being able to perceive such a different way of dealing with a subject that has been exposed throughout history in the framework of traditional Baroque, and to appreciate the composition of the technique, as well as the color used, I was speechless and thought: this is my way. It was the unification of the significance of the concept that wants to convey with that strong and confident brushstroke, the significance of color with drawing; a different way to treat such a traditional and baroque theme as giving it a different vision, reflecting, above all, the concept, getting straight to the feeling that you want to convey,
Since then, I began to study all the expressive language of the master and my total link came in 2015 when I was closing the innovation projects Didactics of Plastic Expression focused on the study and artistic practice of the Malaga painter Jorge Rando.
Your various travels have undoubtedly provided you with interesting experiences. How did they influence you and what have you captured from them in your work?
All trips provide vital experiences that generate interests, sometimes this interest resides in an internal space of the artist that allows him to concentrate on a certain theme or concept, they are internalized and evidently are reflected in certain works.
Your work is based on humanism and spirituality. How do you integrate these into your work?
They are integrated in me, in my life.
It is a philosophy of life that involves certain intrinsic values that, logically, are reflected in your own work. The works are part of you, they are born from your being and you are what you are…, you are reflected in them.
Art is subjective, but how do you distinguish a good artist from someone who has no soul when he paints?
Interesting question.
Has it ever happened to you that, when you see someone dancing, you can see who has learned the steps and who, just by raising an arm, moving slightly, does not need to dance? With a single posture, or a small movement, they attract you and fill you up. They have soul, that aura that distinguishes them.
Well, perhaps this also happens with painting, how many times do you see a painting or a work of art, you stand in front of it and it transmits something to you, it speaks to you or calls you when you pass by it and, most importantly, it says something different to each person depending on the eyes with which we contemplate it?
That a work of art transmits and involves you, that you have a visual dialogue with it and that there is an emotional interaction that makes you forget about time….eso… Don’t you consider it an elf?
You are a visual artist, what background defines this type of art?
We live in a somewhat dystopian world. Do you think art suffers from the same madness?
Everything in life evolves with the passage of time and the concept of the artist has also evolved throughout history.
The artist has gone from being anonymous in the Middle Ages, from considering art only as craftsmanship, to being a genius in the Renaissance with patronage, continuing its evolution until our days focused on mercantilism.
When photography appeared in the 19th century, a great change took place in art; the image gained importance, opening new artistic avant-gardes with their own characteristics
Today we live in a society that consumes images that even dominate the thinking of the nine generations, and art must be aware that art has been and will be a socioeconomic and political reflection of the society in which it emerges. Therefore, to understand the art of each era, one must understand the socioeconomic and political process of that era.
The current Visual and Plastic artist works with images in all their Plastic and Digital facets. Each project requires a specific technique, either photography, installation or painting. Although the field in which I work the most is painting.
Music has been a part of your life. Can art and music create some kind of synergy?
Of course, without a doubt, that is another line of research that I defend, the unification of all the arts. All the arts go hand in hand. Regardless of the art we talk about, it requires perseverance, attention, continuous work, a sensitivity of its own… But if we focus on what you ask me “Music and Plastic Arts” well, what can I tell you, I am also a music teacher and I have spent many years teaching Art Education, integrating music and plastic arts in a single subject, working with art projects where both areas went hand in hand.
On the other hand, as a painter I need music to paint. There are moments that, perhaps because of the painting or perhaps because of the concentration, music has transmitted me the strength I needed to give that necessary brushstroke at that particular moment. Maybe it is difficult to understand or the explanation is not the most suitable, but…, this is my reality!
