Joseph Vilella is an emerging modern artist that has resided in San Diego since 1983 and specializes in acrylic based geometric and fluid paintings on canvas as well as aluminum sculptures.  His works are vibrant and rich in color composition and form expressing his constant optimism for life. Art and engineering run very deep in his veins. His Corsican ancestors from his maternal side were highly recognized wood carvers. His father, of Italian ancestry and a civil engineer by profession, was a superb jewelry designer by passion. As a boy, Joseph was moved to draw airplanes and other technical objects. In 1970, during his technical drawing and design training as an engineering student, he exhibited a remarkable skill for sketching complex geometric figures freehand. This gift amazed his professors and made a deep impression on him. He realized that he inherited some of his family’s artistic talents. Another facet of his aesthetic skills became evident when in 1976 he became a top freelance advertising photographer of the number one advertising agency of the United States, Young and Rubicam, Inc. (Y&R). His outstanding mastery of subject composition and the color dynamism of his slides and prints provided him the opportunity to shoot ads for Coca Cola, General Motors, Eastern Airlines, General Foods and other premier US corporations. His work was used in the US and Latin American markets.  

It was during that period of time that he was introduced to the world of modern art. He was recommended by Y&R to create a retrospective slide and voice presentation of the works of art of Augusto Marin, an established Latin American artist. Through six months of critical interface with Marin as well as his top collectors, he was able to understand the complex paradox that defines the essence of modern art. That true modern art is not about meaning and training, it is about feeling. It is about expressing your inner self and being able to make your pieces captivate the senses and feelings of your viewing audience. Marin impressed in him that the talent to be a modern art painter is a gift, not an acquired skill. You either have it or you don’t and no amount of training will make a difference. Those are tenets that he lives by and have been reinforced through thirty years of appreciating, collecting and close to ten years of producing modern art. “I was drawn to modern art by Marin and influenced by his philosophical views as well as the views and experiences of Wassily Kandinsky. Both of them had a fair measure of artistic training, yet both them had to fight a titanic battle to free them of what Kandinsky referred to as academic rules and boundaries. Once they were able to totally disregard their training, they were able to express their inner feelings through their unique modern art styles. I’m extremely lucky that I had the opportunity to learn from their artistic quest in order to avoid the pitfalls that they had to overcome for so many years. I learned from them to trust my instincts and use my intrinsic artistic talents to express my inner feelings in my works. It is my hope that those who view them can enjoy, appreciate and value them”.  

And it is with that strong sense of direction that Joseph Vilella continues to produces pieces of modern art that catch the eye and lift the spirit. He has also designed selected pieces of modern furniture and has carried his work to stained glass.

Summary of Artistic Accomplishments

Solo Expositions 
2003- Vectron,Inc., San Diego, CA
2004- Vectron, Inc., San Diego, CA
2005- CJ Gallery, Downtown, San Diego, CA
2006- Hallmark Galleries, La Jolla, CA
2007- Timmons Galleries, Rancho Santa Fe, CA

Group Expositions
2004 - Gallerie D’art International – Del Mar, CA
2005 - Gallerie D’art International – Del Mar, CA
2006 - CJ Gallery, Downtown, San Diego  

Auctions
2004 - Gallerie D’art International – Del Mar, CA
2005 - Gallerie D’art International – Del Mar, CA
2006 – STA Special Event Auction – San Diego, CA

Year-Around Viewings
2000 to 2004 - Vectron, Inc., San Diego, CA
2001 to Present - Blanchard, Krasner and French, LLP., La Jolla, CA
2005 to Present - Scripps Hospital, La Jolla, CA
2005 to Present - SAIC Corporation, San Diego, CA
 

Selected Uses of the Art
2004 – National Promotion of Top Commercial Furniture Company, Kimball, Inc.
2004, 2005 - Promotion of the Printmaker.Net
2005 – April and May at Residence Featured on Dream Homes

Works in Major Private Collections
The Eugene and Janice Ephron Collection – Vista, CA
The Moore Family Collection, Manhattan, New York City
The Victor Marin Collection – San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Scripps Hospital Collection, San Diego, CA

Private Owner and their Original Pieces
Floating Cubes, Origins - Mr. Robert Blanchard, BKF Law Firm, La Jolla, CA
Evolution - Mrs. Louarn Fleet, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Oops!, In Eugene’s Memory, Majestic, Happiness – Mrs. Janice Ephron, Vista, CA
Pure Geo-composition 4 – Mr. Robert Beard, Vista, CA
One – Mr. Douglas and Mrs. Kathy Moore, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Spirals in Black – Mr. Victor Marin, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
Avant-Garde – Mrs. Janice Ephron & Mr. Robert Beard, Vista, CA
Gifts- Mr. Scott Barttelbort, M.D., Del Mar, CA
Semi Geo-composition 4 – Mrs. Leigh Timmons, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Shapes – Mr. Paul Ephron, M.D., Pensacola, FL
Flower in Pink– Ms. Beatrice Lombardo, San Diego, CA
Sunshine – Scripps Hospital, La Jolla, CA
Pure Geo-Composition 1 – Private Collector, Scripps Ranch, CA
Blocks and Squiggles – Ms. Nickie Smith, San Diego, CA
Cubes and Rays in Stained Glass – Mr. Vinizio Corral, Chula Vista, CA
Life’s Symphony – Mrs. Elvira Lluch, La Mesa, CA
Flowers of Happiness – Mr. Vernon Yates, Del Mar, CA
Pink Dreams – Ms. Selma Alameri, San Diego, CA
Swirly Squares – Ms. Melanie Skiff, Phoenix, AZ
Streamers in Blue, Center – Mr. Blake Bowling, Del Mar, CA
Waves of Blue – Mrs. Colette Rickon, San Diego, CA
Springtime – Private Collector – San Diego, CA
Tones of Pink  – Private Collector – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Flowers of Joy – Ms. Julie Wong – San Diego, CA
Color Flares – Mr. Pierre Vilella – San Diego, CA
Color Flashes – Ms. Charlene Vilella – San Diego, CA

Details Related to Vilella’s Works of Art 

The works of art of Joseph Vilella are geared towards the aspiring and the seasoned collector. The effort and care to detail he devotes to creating his works, the quality of his exposition venues, the limited availability of his works and the curatorial strength of his supporters play a fundamental role to provide the desired collector value as a function of time. 

In order to enhance collector value and focus on the unique quality of his work, Vilella paints a very limited amount of pieces of art each year. His originals are and will continue to be “one of a kind” works of art that will not be reproduced in their full size. In very rare occasions mostly attributed to personal reasons, Vilella provides specially made reproductions of selected pieces. These reproductions, which are reduced to one third of the original size and signed by the artist, are museum quality mounted to his exacting specifications. His sculptures are not reproduced in their original size. They can be reproduced up to three times in their lifetime in proportions of different from the original size. Such is the respect, commitment and dedication of this artist to his collectors.