Internationally renowned Ronda Artist Luisa Fontalba this month presented a selection of water colours, sculpture, and artistic jewellery in the Santo Domingo Convent in Ronda’s historic old town.
Describing her work as coming from the heart, Luisa is infectiously passionate about colour, telling Ronda Today that art doesn’t need to represent a particular thing as in tradicional portraiture, instead she prefers to produce art that can be interpreted in the eye of the beholder.
Drawing on her background growing up in AndalucĂa, Luisa has found a ready audience for her work in Italy and the United Kingdom where the imagery of AndalucĂan passion, light, colours and perfumes are in great demand, not least as the flamenco movement undergoes a global resergence.
Luisa was brought up in Ronda, on her father’s side she is Rondeña, and on her mother’s side proud of her Arriate heritage, and Luisa considers herself an ambassador for the AndalucĂan lifestyle, even though she is currently based in Milan, the fashion and art capital of Italy.
Whilst Luisa’s art can be described as loose and flowing, lacking in form, Luisa is quick to point out that her brush never touches the canvas until she feels the spirit of her goal, and she is proud to produce art that cannot be defined in words.
Wandering through her exhibition, the viewer is struck by the chromatic dreaminess of her pieces, some strong and determined, full of fire and heat, with others suggesting the tranquility of the ocean or a lazy summer AndalucĂan afternoon.
Ask any two people what they see and a different story emerges, for some the elegance of the flamenco dancer confronting their ghosts is evident, for others the torero leaps into life. As a self confessed fan of artists such as Picasso, Kandinsky, I see in Luisa Fontalba’s works a pleasing echo of spiritual concepts where soft shapes blur, and colours define their intent.
Enjoy our gallery of some of Luisa’s art which was on display in Ronda, and if you’d like to contact Luisa, she has her own website – Luisa Fontalba Art.
I’ve been living in this lovely area of Western Andalucia for the last 20 years or so and dedicate most of my time to the running of English language tourist information websites for the towns of Cádiz, Ronda, Grazalema, the famous or infamous Caminito del Rey, and also Wildside Holidays, which promotes sustainable and eco-friendly businesses running wildlife and walking holidays in Spain.