Texture and function are the recurring patterns in Ryan Villamael’s studio
There’s something about the cut of his jib
Paper and felt are artist Ryan Villamael’s chosen media. At his studio, where he’s working on some pieces for his next exhibit, he’s bent over his work desk, cutting intricate patterns on white paper. Later, he will slat two pieces together and house them in a bell jar. He’s fascinated by the material, he explains in between cuts. Paper can be very fragile and there is something ephemeral about it. Yet at the end of the day, it is still just paper, something we encounter in our everyday lives.
Ryan’s studio doubles as his home. It is peppered with his previous artwork, books, and bits of paper and felt. A deer head made of paper hangs on one of his walls, it was a gift from a friend as well as a nod to his paper art. Under it is a wooden picnic box that has been repurposed as a drawer that houses his small tools. “I got it from a thrift store for P500,” he says with a laugh. He also has an old cabinet—from his previous apartment—which he turned sideways and made into a low bench. He added a thin cushion over it for comfort and some printed throw pillows for a bit of muted pizzazz.
When pressed for what else he’d like to add to his workspace in the future, Ryan hums and thinks about it for a while. “An Eames Lounge Chair!” he finally says with contagious enthusiasm. Its history and its function as art appeal to him, aside from the fact that it is a very comfortable chair. “And a vertical garden,” he adds.