Vanessa Villarreal

Vanessa Villarreal is a mixed-media assemblage artist based in Washington, DC, practicing primarily with denim scraps, second-hand materials, and acrylic paint.

Originally from Central Florida, her affinity for creating has been sustained throughout her life, exploring various mediums, like sewing and painting, which is reflected in her current work. After years of pursuing a career in healthcare, Vanessa ended her master’s studies prematurely to pursue art full-time. Since then, she has exhibited her work in several galleries and exhibitions, has been granted multiple opportunities to nurture her creativity through residencies, and has collaborated with institutions like the Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Phillips Collection, all while operating a sustainable wearable art business, Lion’s Den Creative LLC. Her work has been featured in multiple publications, notably The Washington Post and Washington City Paper.

Through Vanessa’s current exploration of denim as a medium for Black portraiture, she is expanding the use of a material that has become an emblem of American fashion by way of enslaved African people. Using personal interactions with community members in DC, her own family archives, and her Panamanian and African American heritage as sources of inspiration, Vanessa reimagines and reconstructs the narratives concerning Black Americans with dignity and joy. While reclaiming denim as a creative tool, she’s committed to pushing her boundaries in the context of materiality beyond denim. By engaging with art mediums and materials of cultural significance to African Americans and/or Panamanians, like quilt-making, she creates multidimensional pieces reflective of her identity and the shared experiences of many Black Americans and people across the African diaspora.