From the union between Dominican and Scandinavian culture comes the work of Tania Marmolejo, an artist who is currently based in New York as a painter, author and fashion illustrator. Villazan is honored to announce her solo show in May 2023.

The protagonists of Tania's paintings are always women who look at the viewer as if trying to communicate something to them. "The characters always have a lot of me in them because they are based on emotions that I have or have had, experiences that have marked me, but they do not pretend to be self-portraits" explains the artist. Therefore, what she does is to create the alter-ego from an emotion and then release it into the world to be herself or the one the viewer wants to interpret. Sometimes the women appear accompanied by animals, which can symbolize another person, the conscience... while they can be a reflection of the one who looks at them, a friend or a sister.  Just by looking at their eyes the viewer is "trapped" in a gaze that does not let go. Moreover the figures remain motionless while their surroundings give off movement through swirling clouds, sea waves or trees in the wind.

"The characters always have a lot of me in them because they are based on emotions that I have or have had, experiences that have marked me, but they do not pretend to be self-portraits"

In the artist's own words "I didn't always paint in large format. The change happened when I was told that my art was 'too feminine' and that maybe I needed to change it. So I did. I exploded the faces and made them huge as a protest." With a lot of light and music accompanying her during her working hours, Tania Marmolejo locks herself in her studio for hours in a disciplined way, and tries to travel when she closes a period to disconnect and find inspiration again. Although it is clear that her lineages are always present, and it can even be seen in her paintings when one predominates more than the other. In the case of using bright colors, mountains, brown skin and aquatic turquoise we can speak of Dominican influence, while a darker palette in the backgrounds is reminiscent of the Swedish children's books about trolls and fairies that the artist used to read when she was a child, as well as the blonde hair that has so much to do with her mother. At times both influences blend equally, resulting in a mixture that is as murky as it is colorful, covered in mist but with flowers.

"I didn't always paint in large format. The change happened when I was told that my art was 'too feminine' and that maybe I needed to change it. So I did. I exploded the faces and made them huge as a protest."