Stéphane Villafane
Stéphane Villafane was trained as an architect and as a result his primary interest when it comes to painting is space and its relationship to time. How one can formulate different types of space; empty space, constructed space, natural space, meditative space and so on. In order to explore and discover new space, he sees it vital to empty his paintings of a narrative or a subject. He describes his process more of observing things from a distance, which involves working across different media including photos, sketches, and models before he arrives at a painting on a large scale. Villafane travelled a lot when he was younger and was heavily influenced by American literature, particularly the Beat Generation. This influence is reflected in his conceptual approach to painting, concerning himself with the emptiness and absence of travelling on a journey. His palette is subtle but fresh and full of light, mainly blues, whites, greys and green, which are tranquil and quietly recede as the shifting planes of space come to the fore. His profession as an architect and his profession as an artist remain inextricably entwined. He has exhibited across France and Spain and now in the United Kingdom.