ABOUT
Maria Fe Victoria Tolentino Villote is an interdisciplinary artist, born in Manila, Philippines in 1984, who immigrated to the United States ten years later. She earned her BA from UC Berkeley in 2011 and has showcased her work in various national and international exhibitions. She is currently living and working in Ventura County. |
STATEMENT
As a 1.5 generation Filipino immigrant, I delve into colonial mentality, assimilation, and internalized racism through my process-based art. By incorporating fleeting and fragmented memories of my childhood, my work encapsulates the intricate process of cultural amalgamation within the diaspora experience. My work serves as a contemplative invitation for viewers to reflect on the complexities of identity and the fluidity of cultural boundaries. |
ART
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Oil on Reclaimed Timber
Painting, Sculpture 36”x30”x21” 2009 A representation of the symbiotic relationship between humans, plants, and animals and our insatiable appetite for consumption. — with humans, plants, and animals.
I’m interested in the human experience, symbiosis, and the vicissitudes of the interaction between the work and the viewer/consumer. In the construct of a hyperreality and the use of metaphors and parallels, I try to seduce my audience, playing on their expectations and assumptions based on their preconceived notions. Through the lure and allure, I pull the viewer in hoping that their experience and understanding of the work will unfold into a dialectic gaze. |