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Fatima Ronquillo is a self-taught painter whose classically inspired imagery evokes a world of serenity and charm. Her paintings of mysterious personages, often set against pastoral and idyllic landscapes, are accented with an underlying sense of drama and playfulness. These small intimate works invite the viewer to take a respite from the frenetic pace of modern life.
For a self-educated artist, the isolation of the studio cultivates a deeply personal visual language. A painter who works from her imagination, Fatima describes her studio practice as something born out of necessity. “Having always worked alone, I never had the benefit of critiques from peers or teachers. Paintings go out as they are, I don’t always know if they are good, in the technical sense. I do know that they are always sincere. I’ve never painted ‘just for practice.’ Each attempt has the full force of intention. A painting only fails when the idea fails. If the idea and feeling for a painting is strong enough, one can figure the means to paint it. So I taught myself how to draw and paint because of this overwhelming desire to express an idea, to tell a story."
When asked about the inspiration and meaning surrounding her imagery, Fatima often cites her childhood. “I’m very fortunate that there isn’t much of a separation between my life and art. My works are not autobiographical but I would not be able to paint them without some connection to my memories or my life. It is in the recollection of an image where the seed of an idea gets sown. A very personal painting for me is ‘Reaching the Mountaintop.’ I saw this old photograph of my mother and aunt as little girls in delicate white dresses. My mother was wearing hers with sturdy black orthopedic boots. I wanted to honor her story. She had polio as a child but overcame it. In the painting is a little girl with a walking stick and hiking boots. She is on top of a mountain with a vast panoramic landscape behind her. Next to her is a monkey. I found out that Philippine macaques were used to test the polio vaccine. This brought forth the memory of my mother’s gardener in the Philippines who brought in his pet monkey to our home one day. In the end, something very personal becomes a universal image of triumph and adventure.” The artist quickly adds, “Whether the viewer gets the same story or the symbolism behind a painting is not important. I need the story and the symbolism for myself so I can create something genuine and heartfelt. In fact, the paintings often take on other meanings and evolve once they are finished. I like art that can be appreciated in many different ways and that seem to change with the viewer. The experience ought to be unique to each person. In some ways it makes me reluctant to divulge what a painting means because I don’t want to interfere with that experience. I believe that the two separate acts of creating and looking at art elicit emotional, visceral responses. There is something magical, mysterious and intimate about that.”
Born in San Fernando, Philippines in 1976, Fatima Ronquillo emigrated to the United States in 1987 where her family settled in San Antonio, Texas. In 2000, she began her professional career in Southern California. In 2004 she returned to Texas, settling in Austin this time. A month long trip to the Philippines in late 2006 spurred a new creative direction. During her trip Fatima decided to vacation from painting as well. A month of not doing what has been a constant habit for nearly two decades forced her to identify her authentic voice. This voice came not from her physical surroundings but from the inner world of the imagination. It is an inner life where art history meets with childhood memories and imagined characters from literature, theatre and opera. In 2008 Fatima relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she maintains a home and studio with her husband and west highland terrier. Her work is included in private collections in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.
STATEMENT
I paint because of the naive desire to see an idea transform into a pictorial poem. Ideas hail from dreams or visual flashes inspired by memory, artwork, music or literature - all the things I live and love. With a painter's language of color, tone and form, I express lyric poems of joy, love, wonderment and nostalgia.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2006 Town Life, Accolades, Ventura, California
2004 New Paintings, Accolades, Ventura, California
2003 New Paintings, Accolades, Ventura, California
2002 Magandang Buhay (Beautiful Life), Buenaventura Gallery, Ventura, California
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2008
The Boat Show, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
2008 A Grand Affair, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
2007 Alice in Wonderland, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin, Texas
2002 20th Annual La Quinta Arts Festival, La Quinta, California
2002 17 Asian American Artists: Asian American Experience, Studio Channel Islands Art Center,
California State University Channel Islands, Oxnard, California
2001 8th Annual Classic Competition, Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, California
2001 Merit Award Winners Show, Buenaventura Gallery, Ventura, California
2001 64th Annual Art and Photography Exhibit, Santa Paula Society of the Arts, Santa Paula, California
2000 Merit Award Winners Show, Buenaventura Gallery, Ventura, California
1999 Inland Exhibition XXXV, San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, California
1998 30th Multi-Media Mini Show, San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, California
1995 Welcome To Our World: Seventeen Young Artists, Centro Cultural Aztlan, San Antonio, Texas
1994 Welcome To Our World: Seventeen Young Artists, San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio,
Texas
1994 Mirrors/Windows, Great Hall Gallery at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas
1994 Our World: Twenty Young Artists, Centro Cultural Aztlan, San Antonio, Texas
1993 Our World: Twenty Young Artists, San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas
1993 Hispanic Heritage, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico San Antonio Extension, San
Antonio, Texas
HONORS
2003 City of Ventura Featured Summer ArtWalk Artist, Ventura, California
2002 Artist Fellowship Grant, City of Ventura Cultural Arts Grants Program, Ventura, California
1993 National Tourism Week, Grand Prize, San Antonio, Texas
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Khanna, Nandita, “Quick Trips: ‘The Culture Fix’, Austin, Texas,” Condé Nast Traveler, May 2008, p. 130
Fauntleroy, Gussie, “21 Under 31” Annual Emerging Artists Issue, Southwest Art, September 2007
“The List,” Ventana Monthly, August, 2006, pp. 40-41
Woodard, Josef, “Color and Bounty,” Calendar Weekend, Ventura County Edition, Los Angeles Times,
February 14, 2002. p. 51
Woodard, Josef, “Grouping Art,” Calendar Weekend, Ventura County Edition, Los Angeles Times, August
16, 2001, p. 6
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