The secrets out, I love the work of Fatima Ronquillo! This self-taught painter artfully marries old master techniques with a mystical modern sensibility, and the results are just dreamy.
Born in the Philippines in 1976, Ronquillo emigrated to the United States as a child, settling in San Antonio, Texas. Her work has been coveted ever since her first exhibition at the age of fifteen and now Fatima has an ever expanding worldwide audience I caught up with Fatima to talk about her fantastical folk and to find out what informs her unique take on portraiture.
Fatima Ronquillo at work.
When where and how did your fasciation with portraits begin? When I was a very young child (perhaps 6 or 7 years old) I found a magazine with Picasso’s self portrait from his blue period on the cover. From then on I had this longing to see paintings, really good paintings. As we were living in a small town in the Philippines, I could only dream of doing so and had to content myself with whatever I could find in books and magazines.
Where did you spent your formative years? I was born in the Philippines in the province of Pampanga. At ten years old, I emigrated to the United States, to San Antonio, Texas.
Picasso Autoportrait 1901
What is it about portraits that speak to you ? It is the gaze―the ambivalent gaze that arouses fascination and curiosity. I like small intimate paintings that invite close inspection and repeated prolonged gazing. In my own work this fascination for the gaze is made evident by the lover’s eyes―minature eye protraits set within jewelry made popular during the Georgian era―and in other instances by the obscuring of the eye with transparent masks and veils. Another area of great interest to me is the accoutrements or symbolic objects which lend to the backstory or narrative of the portrait. These can be books, letters, jewelry or more poetic ones such as flowers with their own language and hidden meanings as well as animals which often serve as alter egos to the main characters. My portraits are of invented personages rather than of individuals so it is akin to creating characters in a play.
"The Peacemaker" 2019, oil on panel, 24x20 inches
I noticed that you also produce etchings and lithographs, what made you venture into this technique, and why is it rewarding? My first love is drawing. Printmaking, is very much tied to the craft of drawing. I am precious about my drawings and rarely show them as I find them very personal to my creative process. Etching and lithography relies quite heavily on drawing and I feel that it is a way of sharing my drawings. Painting is such a solitary pursuit that I enjoyed the change of pace that the collaborative nature of printmaking provided.
When master printers Jack Lemon and Steve Campbell approached me about producing an edition in 2019 I jumped at the chance.The process of making marks on metal and stone and looking at things in reverse or in layers has always fascinated me. I hope I can continue to explore the medium and create works that are a complement to the oil paintings. The great thing about traditional printmaking is that while they are editioned multiples, the image itself is created as a stand alone original piece, and each impression made has the hand of the printmaker involved.
"The Watchers" 2020, 4-color stone lithograph, edition of 14. Paper size: 30×22 inches / image size: 26×17 inches.
Why are portraits having a ‘moment’ now do you think? I’ve always thought that photography has changed the way people perceive what the human face and form looks like. I love old painted portraits because they’re very different to how people look in photographs. A painted portrait need not be hyper real, it just needs to be true to the essence of a person.
What is your preferred medium, panel or canvas? I use both, panels for smaller paintings and canvases for larger.
Is there a painting that you found particularly difficult to part with and if so why? I am generally not attached to my paintings because there is always a new idea to explore. However there are some paintings that insist on remaining with me, and of course they are the ones that have a personal connection to me or my loved ones. My drawings on the other hand, I never part with.
"Crowned Nun with Marmoset" 2018, 30x24 inches, oil on linen
When was your favourite art produced? I love the Rococo and the Renaissance, especially the Venetians. Having been raised in the Philippines and Texas and now living in New Mexico, I also take inspiration from the santos and retablos from Spanish Colonial Art.
Which other artists inspire you? At the moment, Agnes Martin. It has been a challenging couple of years and I long for the meditative contemplation that her paintings inspire. There is a circular room of her works at the Harwood Museum in Taos, a short picturesque drive away from Santa Fe, and I feel an immediate calm once I enter it.
Can you think of one stand out exhibition that you loved? It’s not so much a particular exhibition but I have had a deep love for a little Watteau painting of a reclining nude at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. I have visited it many times over the years in the way one visits an old friend. Second to that is the room of Corot paintings at the Louvre.
"The Betrothed" 2019, oil on panel, 10x8 inches
If you could ask any other artist one question? I would ask Watteau how he painted the idea of love (or the longing for love) so well.
What is the biggest challenge that you face professionally? My paintings require solitude for me to create. I find myself busier and busier and it is a challenge to navigate the need for quiet and the need for engagement with the world outside the studio.
Where can I purchase your work? I am represented by the Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe and by the Meyer Gallery in Park City. I also have some paintings at the Dorothy Circus Gallery in London and Rome. My etchings and lithographs are available through Blackrock Editions in Santa Fe.
Nick Cox / Period Portraits November 2021.