Artist’s Statement

The study of the human body has been present in my work ever since the first nude I painted when I was seven years old. For me, eroticism is, to quote Octavio Paz, "sex plus something more."  Beyond the mechanical, physical act of sex, eroticism is the mental, and the search for that "something more" is the point of departure in my work.  I view nudity as truth, but the truth can be a struggle. Nudity and the erotic are often censored, even as violent images become more prevalent.  So it is very important for me to continue exploring.

My current work either builds an image or takes it apart. From explicit nudes to symbolism using only elements such as high heels and lingerie, it invites the viewer to make a decision. Bodies can be a dual reality where anything is possible—active or passive, beloved or desired, sexualized or simply figures. They may depict the prelude or the parting.  My work reflects a number of inquiries into the language of the body and its multiple meanings. The bodies I construct remake ideas of formal representations of nudes.  I’m not looking to simply depict reality, but to interpret reality.

Artist’s Bio

Fernando Vesga Villabona was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia and grew up in Bogotá.

Vesga graduated from the prestigious Fines Arts program at the National University of Colombia.

After graduating, Vesga worked with an NGO that specializes in providing art education for victims of violence and displacement in Colombia, and then spent fifteen years as an art teacher at the college and high school levels.

In 2010, Vesga moved to New York to resume his career as a painter. Always experimenting, he continues to explore the subject he began with in university--the endless variety of formal and thematic possibilities the human figure offers.