Xavier Portilla was born in Guayaquil in 1965. His studies were carried out with masters such as César Andrade Faini, Ricardo Florsheim and Isabel Tamayo, from whom he absorbs their best knowledge in the different fields of art. This preparation, to which Portilla gave himself with such enthusiasm, leads him to draw with confidence and to dominate the tonalities, the contrasts of color and balance —so necessary between light and shadow—. These achievements have led him to embrace the different thematic of art with such success.

For Portilla, color is fundamental in his work, an aspect that it dominates and absorbs him, and he engages with it with great passion; and as he expresses “color conductor of light, of life, without it we would be living in a world of absolute monotony”.

In these pages* we see his work with great clarity, in which he openly transmits all his artistic potential, most particularly the magical realism period, in which nature’s components are open and captivates the audience. His paintings include elements with texture, and he delimits well-defined lines, where there are hamlets, church towers, bells, angels, butterflies, flowers, fish, birds, trees, fruits, horses, carousels, among others.

In July of 2006, Portilla received the “Vicente Rocafuerte” medal for artistic merit, grated by the National Congress of Ecuador.

Later, the painter made the decision of venturing outside and settle in Miami (United States), motivated by friends and collectors who knew his work and were sure that he would succeed there. It should be noted that it was The Garden of the Art Gallery, in San Sebastian, Florida, that recognize the value of his paintings and propose him to work with them. Portilla accepts with pleasure, without leaving aside that this may appear as an immense opportunity, but the change was nonetheless very drastic, as his work had achieved a recognition and admiration in Ecuador.

The effort and risk paid off. The success smiles him when in 2007 he is named the absolute winner of the Art Fest Hollywood and, in that year, he obtains the third place in the Art Fest Doral, both in Florida. He is also invited to exhibit his work in several educational centers such as Millennia Atlantic University and Miami Dade College West, where he is hired to make to make a large mural for its main library. At the same time, his work is recognized by the city council of Doral (Florida) and the Miami Dade College. In approximately five years of being in the United States, Portilla manages to paint six large murals in Miami, as well as being invited to give talks and lectures about his art to young people from various centers in South Florida.

In the same way, he also exhibits in several cultural centers and galleries of Miami such as the Art Center Miami, Renne Art Gallery, Macciato Gallery, Open Art Gallery, Crematta Gallery (on Calle Ocho in Miami). He also participates in art festivals such as the Art Fest Doral, Art Fest Hollywood, Miracle Mile Art Fest-Coral Gables Florida, among others.

In 2011 and 2012, he is invited to exhibit at the Open Art Festival-South Korea and the Open Art Festival Beijing, respectively, invitations that were made by his dear friend and colleague Ana Carolina Moreno, who is also the director of the Art Center Miami.

Being in another environment makes him see life differently, he feels that one cycle ends and another one starts, influenced by the environment in which he develops. Thus arises the idea and conception of marine art, to which Portilla feels attracted to paint, especially the entire animal water range: fish, turtles, dolphins and more. The colors are highlighted with notorious plastic elaboration skills, where volumes, contrasts and strokes can be appreciated, accompanied by well-demarcated lines, in which once more texture plays an important role, providing depth and expressive force.

His latest pictorial productions lead us to abstraction and portrait, themes that seduced him since his adolescence, but it is now when he takes up that link that he longed for. Through his new work, the beauty and harmony of colors are transmitted with a sense of knowledge and ease in the movement of his palette. For the moment he feels joy and restlessness of experimenting with these new artistic resources, but always aware that his previous periods have been wonderful and unforgettable sources of motivation.

Diario El Universo - December 26, 2013.