The difference between a painter and an artist is that the former dominates the craft, while the latter projects his vision; a style of his own characterizes the true creator. Vision and style are strictly necessary, but in an industry overflowing with pictorial proposals, something more is needed: beauty and transcendence. However, to cross borders and conquer latitudes, universality is required.
Daniela Vargas Winiker, born June 20, 1975 in San José, Costa Rica, has it all: vision, style, beauty, transcendence and universality. “My childhood was wonderful, I had the opportunity to grow up in the countryside surrounded by nature, animals, cold weather, near a volcano, a lot of freedom… happy. I started painting as a child, I was waiting for a special date to order art supplies, my parents always supported me: materials, workshops, exhibitions ”, the artist shares.
“The drive of my family, my passion for art and determination are the elements that contributed to my being an artist,” he adds.
Despite his artistic vocation from an early age, in the face of the constant opinions that art cannot be made a living, Vargas Winiker studied Business Administration and Marketing at the International University of the Americas. He worked in banking for many years specializing in private sector investments; managed to consolidate a respectable career as a bank executive. It took courage, determination, enthusiasm and passion when in 2010 he made a decision that would change his life forever: dedicate himself to art. He took courses in drawing, painting, mixed media, and sculpture with prominent Costa Rican artists.
“I started painting nature, landscape, still life and fi gurative; from the beginning my work was characterized by an impressionist and expressionist style. In 2010 I started working on collections, highlighting ‘Opening the doors of time’, ‘De pains’, ‘Exchange of glances’, ‘Levitar de mariposas’, ‘Divina psique’ and ‘Oasis de mariposas’. My technique evolved from only acrylic to oil, mixed and sculpture. I am inspired by European art at the end of the 9th and 20th centuries ”, he details.
In 2016, she would focus her work on a theme that would lead her to conquer collectors, galleries, critics and the international press: butterflies. “Since 2016, butterflies have been my theme of inspiration, with them I have flown in and out of Costa Rica. In many cultures they represent impermanence and instability in earthly life; the amazing change from a caterpillar to a butterfly is likened to the journey of a soul, from an earthly body to a divine body. They are the insect of the soul. The ancient Greeks represented the soul, the human psyche, with the wings of the butterfly in art. Immortality, rebirth, resurrection, but also lightness, inconstancy, ephemeral, joy, beauty. Today my proposals are not limited to painting ”, he tells us.
“My purpose is to combine painting, sculpture and installation, achieving interactive spaces where the sensory experience can captivate the viewer to enter my magical world.”
In the beginning, Daniela had the support and encouragement of Marta Antillón Salazar, founder and director of Galería Valanti, indisputably the best gallery owner in Costa Rica, as well as an outstanding Latin American promoter, representative of established artists such as Rafa Fernández, to name just one. Antillón believed in her, she knew that Daniela would conquer the tastes of the most demanding collectors in the country.
The businessman Onofrio Aldo Annese, known among other businesses for his footwear brand “Aldo”, has a Boutique Hotel in Costa Rica called Studio Hotel, which houses a private collection of renowned artists, such as Jorge Jiménez Deredia, among others.
In conjunction with Galería Valanti, Daniela created an exclusive pictorial and sculptural collection for said venue, consolidating herself as an artist with a unique and universal proposal. His career is made up of almost 50 individual and group exhibitions in Costa Rica, Mexico, the United States and South Korea.
In 2020 Daniela Vargas Winiker joined Héctor Díaz Gallery, an international gallery based in Guadalajara, representing a select group of artists such as the American Jessica Feldman, the Colombian Francisco Correa and the Nigerian Christian Allison. In 2021 this gallery produced a short documentary about his life, work and career. Daniela is proof that it is never too late to dedicate ourselves to what we love. He knew how to channel his passion and love for art, achieving, like butterflies, rebirth and transcendence.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx