Natalia Villanueva Linares is a multidisciplinary moment maker of French + Peruvian origin. Natalia speaks in amounts and believes in poetry made from excessive quantities, in simple objects radiating with power. Transmuting found, worn, old objects or those found in the banal of everyday life, Natalia uses destruction as a form of distribution. With an animistic relation to certain materials, she invites others to feel the magnitude of their generosity.
The concept of sensitive mathematics inhabits a large part of her work, either through the abundance of large quantities of gestures and objects, or in its relationship to space and temporality. At the core of this concept we find the word Contar which translates from Spanish as counting and/or telling. In the repetitivity and multiplicity of her work, Natalia listens to her materials and matters, creating a devoted connection with their stories and intention.
Her monumental pieces reveal her magnetic affection for large collections, accompanied by a notion of continuity which communicates between the immense and the minute.
Natalia graduated with highest honors from the National School of Fine Arts of Paris, from the atelier Guiseppe Penone. She currently lives in Chicago and works between North + South America and Europe. Her work has been shown in two major exhibitions at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Paris. She exhibited at the Sala Miro Quesada Garland in Peru (2013), the Collège de Bernardins in Paris and La Graineterie (2018). Natalia had her first solo shows with Doyang Lee Gallery (2014, France), Wu Gallery (2021, Peru), Comfort Station in Chicago (2022). Her solo show at the Museo de Arte de San Marcos (2022, Peru) won the Luces Award for best solo exhibition. In 2023 she exhibited at DePaul Art Museum, El Lobi (Puerto Rico), Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago IL) and the School of the Art Gallery UM (Canada). In 2024 Natalia was awarded the Sculpture Fellowship by the Illinois Art Council; she had a solo show at Heaven Gallery (Chicago) and La Maison de L’Amérique Latine in Paris.
Natalia is a cultural worker. She co-founded the non-profit organization Yaku in Peoria IL. She is the former Director of the Artist-run mini mansion High Place and founder of the magazine Ukayzine, created to promote international cultural exchanges through the visual Arts. Natalia is a contributor for Sixty Inches From Center and works as art coordinator at Mana Contemporary.
