Villarreal, Juan Carlos

He was born in Capital Federal in 1951. Starting in 1964, he studied Advertising Design, and in 1967 he took Drawing, Engraving, Painting, and Sculpture courses (3 years) at the "Carlos Morel" School of Fine Arts in Quilmes. In 1969, he became acquainted with the possibilities offered by photography and fully embraced it. A self-taught photographer, since 1977, he has been dedicated to teaching and artistic creation. He has given numerous talks and courses in the main cities of our country: Trelew, Ushuaia, Mendoza, Córdoba, Santa Rosa, Bahía Blanca, Azul, Corrientes, Rosario, Rafaela, among others. In 1986, he taught the Seminar "How I take my photos" at the Fotoclub Esch, Luxembourg. Foto Club A.P.27, Brussels, Belgium, and at the Photographic Society of Guipuzcoa, San Sebastian, Spain. He has written journalistic and technical articles for magazines such as Fotografía Universal, Foto Objetivo, and Fotomundo. Since 1974, he has participated in National and International Salons representing the Foto Club Buenos Aires, receiving numerous awards, including nationally: in 1976, the Grand Prize of Honor at the National Photographic Art Salon; in 1977, he won the National Congress Prize and received 5 Condors from the Argentine Federation of Photography. Internationally, he has participated in Salons held in: Argentina, Andorra, Germany, East Germany, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, USA, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, South Africa, Macao, Malaysia, England, Austria, China, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Sweden, India, obtaining numerous distinctions and awards. He has exhibited his photographic collections within and outside of Argentina. Abroad, he was invited to exhibit in 1981 out of competition as Guest of Honor at the 10th Anniversary Salon of the Foto Club A.P.27 of Brussels, Belgium; also in the First World Photographic Art Salon "Sissone 81" (collective), Sissone, France; "Four International Photographers"; in Fredericia, Denmark, sponsored by Alternativ Foto Group; 100 monochrome and color paper works at the Photographic Circle City of Thiene, Italy; and at the opening of the 8th World Photographic Art Salon "Virton 80", Belgium, reserved for the 40 most internationally outstanding photographers, being chosen as the 2nd Best Author. In 1980, due to his outstanding performance, the International Federation of Photographic Art, awarded him the title of "FIAP Artist" (A.FIAP). Starting in 1991, he began his work as a cinema photographer, taking still photos for the films "Gatica, el Mono," "Perón, sinfonía del sentimiento" (1995), and "Aniceto" (2006) by Leonardo Favio. He also collaborated on "Fuga de Cerebros" (1998) by Fernando Musa, and provided period and setting photos for "El Sueño de los Héroes" (1997) by Sergio Renán. His most recent exhibitions were "Aniceto" at the reopening of the Fotoclub Buenos Aires in 2008. In 2009, he took this exhibition to the Museum of Photography of Rafaela, Santa Fe, and backstage shots from Leonardo Favio's films were the subject of the exhibition "Three Powers Greet: Aniceto - Perón - Gatica" at the Borges Cultural Center.