Angelico Jik Villanueva
Sculptor Angelico “Jik” Villanueva was surrounded by paintings and sculptures growing up. It was his dad Ben-hur, an artist and art teacher, who exposed him to the world of creativity and artistic expressions.
Aside from always seeing art at home, Villanueva would always accompany his father to his exhibits. Sometimes, he would model for his dad’s paintings. During his younger years, he’s already moved whenever he sees sculptures in exhibitions.
Villanueva, along with his seven other siblings, was also raised by his parents as a devout Catholic. As a young kid, he recalls attending mass three times a week and would actively serve the Church as a choir member. According to him, faith is one of the most important foundations of his life.
This is the reason why the recurring themes of Villanueva’s artworks revolve around his faith and family. Throughout the years, the sculptor would showcase images of Jesus Christ or figures that would suggest familial ties.
His life is dependent on God, this sculptor admits. His parents would enroll their children to Catholic schools and the family would always hear mass. Even the works of his father are very religious, which he eventually adapted to his art.
While he was introduced to art at an early age, Villanueva did not begin his professional life as an artist. He started working for a television network as a coordinator, researcher and production manager.
It was a lucrative job, he used to work non stop — from a morning show to an afternoon program and ending his day in an evening broadcast. He also did a travel show which was able to let him tour around the Philippines.
However, when Villanueva realized that it’s time for him to make art, he stopped working for television. He moved to Baguio and managed his family’s gallery Arko ni Apo, along with a cafe, while making sculptures and painting at the same time.
Despite being exposed to art since childhood, Villanueva is still considered as a new artist at that time. He became an apprentice to his dad for a short time — just to familiarize himself with the basic techniques and learn some tips — where he’ll be assigned to do the difficult tasks like welding and cutting.
Back then, he was only surviving using the money that he had saved from his work in television and a few earnings from the cafe. That time, he was also supporting his wife and two young children while doing art.
It was not easy. He was only picking up small pieces of bronze that were discarded from the projects of his family members and these scavenged metals will be used for him to make his artworks. He said that he practically can’t afford to buy materials because they were so expensive, so he’s just relying on his family’s leftovers.
After two years of making art, no one was buying his sculptures and what he earned from a few paintings were not enough to support his family. At that point, his savings were depleting too.
When his future in art felt bleak, he decided to go back to Manila. Villanueva entrusted my artworks with his siblings and particularly told them that if ever someone buys his work, the price will remain the same.
After two days of staying in Metro Manila, someone finally bought his art. He started believing in himself and returned to Baguio.
Villanueva started creating more works and eventually gained more friends in the art industry. He also started participating in various group exhibitions which paved the way for him in widening his network and more people recognizing his sculptures.
He was able to display his works in local big events like Annual Sculpture Review and Manila Art, among others. But aside from these, he managed to showcase his talent in the global platform too as he got invitations for international biennales, workshops and exhibits.
This sculptor managed to teach art too in international events and schools. In the Philippines, he gives back by helping other artists, especially the new ones, with their art — something similar to how his father would teach him when he was still starting.
The art of Villanueva graced countries like the United States of America, Peru, India, South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Singapore, among others.
With all the achievements in his belt and the art that he continuously produces, this artist remains grounded and grateful. He’s thankful for God and for his father, including the lessons that he learned from him.
Villanueva always say that in this life, we should be thankful because we were also given bonuses by God — and those are talents that we should use and value. For him, since he’s endowed with the ability to create art, he’ll work hard and make the most out of the gift that he has received.
He acknowledges that there’s nothing more that he could ask for from God — his prayers are just filled with gratitude.
