* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
A Southern California native, Emilio Villalba received his BFA from the Art Institute of California in 2006, and his MFA in Painting from the Academy of Art University in 2011. He currently lives in San Francisco where he teaches at the Art Institute of California and Cogswell College.
Emilio explains the work by saying, “My portraits are inspired by master works, as well as the contemporary human condition. They explore the dissonance created when the familiar is fractured and distorted by outside influence.”
"Emilio is a great guy and a fantastic painter. Here is an artist that has spent the last several years since grad school painting every day, teaching others, and perfecting his skills. He has always been driven by experimentation, which has led him to develop such a signature style. I have been working with Emilio since we first opened in 2010. We booked his first solo exhibition last year, where he sold out all 36 paintings. I’m thrilled to be able to support this local SF artist who is on such an incredible trajectory. I’m always so excited to see what he will do next."