Valentina Bilbao’s art is gently encapsulating, where such harmonious movement appears to have an alluring effect, almost as if it were to pull the viewer into the canvas. The inspiration for the motion and color in each of her paintings is a reflection of the music which she listens to while painting, specific to each individual piece.

Born in Venezuela in 1977, Currently based in Miami, Valentina Bilbao is an abstract expressionist painter who shares her messages of passion through her art.

She began her career in art at the ripe age of 18 when she co-founded an art workshop for kids, which led her to discover her interest in helping and teaching children. She studied adolescent and child emotional psychology in order to fulfill this passion. Venezuela was beginning to dive into its political turmoil, and as an alumni of child psychology, Valentina took on the responsibility of emotionally nurturing children from all backgrounds, using what she learned in the university, as well as her own methods, to promote self confidence. She diligently uplifted those in need around her, until she was no longer allowed to by her now ex husband. Regardless, she continued to use her art as a means to spread messages of positivity with those around her. Her expertise in art caught recognition, prompting her first solo exhibition in 2005.

Deeply influenced by the music around her, she would continue to produce mirages of the rhythm, melody, and emotion which the music would evoke, onto the canvases. In the process, she would listen to the music on repeat. Loosing track of time and space, her consciousness would sink into the music and art. As a result, her creative process was created, which she would stay true to when producing every single one of her pieces. She feels this way as she claims “I decode the Music to then transform and code it as color. For me, the Music is not only an inspiration, it is the element from which all is born, it is the Artwork on itself, expressed in a different way. My Artwork is completed when I am able to bring the Music to a visual tangible dimension.”

Since the 2010s, Bilbao’s art has been dispersed through the world, more specifically in: south Florida, New York, Paris, and Italy. She learned Italian as she was inspired by Italy’s culture, history, and most importantly its music which greatly inspired her art, which is why many of her prominent pieces bear Italian names.

Her art is currently represented by Eternity gallery and it has been displayed in the Boca Raton museum, Perez Art Museum Miami, collateral events during the Venice Biennale, Nader Museum, and an auction in Opera Gallery. Not to mention her audio visual displays, sharing the unique experience of listening to the same music that she did while creating her art. She also holds solo painting performances so that the audience can see her painting in action, while she is in the presence of the music, most notably opening the Boca Raton art fair 2018 with her performance.

Text by Tina Bilbao