Victoria Montesinos is the only daughter of the well-known Mexican movie director, Fernando A. Rivero, and Maty Humana. When barely three years old, Victoria was sent to live with her grandparents. In Victoria's own words: "My grandmother was of the old school. Her philosophy was that children should be disciplined, seen and not heard, only speak when spoken to and to sit absolutely quiet when in the company of adults.
With her parents constantly traveling, Victoria's childhood was spent with her grandmother in a large house in the Juarez neighborhood. She recalls, "I became accustomed to enjoying my own world. I took advantage of my isolation to draw. Drawing was an escape from my problems and it was highly rewarding for me."
Victoria did not find many incentives at school where nothing responded to her desire to paint. However, her father valued and recognized her artistic talent. The opportunity to paint was provided by a friend of her father's, Jose Bardasano, the great Spanish painter who had arrived in Mexico as a refugee from the Spanish Civil War. She studied with Bardasano for five years. Victoria recalls, "I spent two years with a pencil in my hand doing school work. Bardasano's high demands did not bother me because when I drew, I disconnected myself from everything and it was a delight.
Since childhood, she has been uninterested in conventional life, and have felt that there must be a higher reason for the way things are. "I thought life was boring until I understood that giving life more meaning depended on me." At that time, Victoria chose a difficult path; she decided to paint with total integrity: without submitting herself to the judgment of the market or a particular style, or to the expectations of others.
In 1983, Victoria moved to New York to concentrate on her fine art, and after a successful stint, she decided to return to Mexico where working ardently in her homeland she developed an outstanding new style.
In the mid-1990's, Victoria returned to New York with the intentions of painting flowers. "I decided to make flowers my only focus of attention," said Montesinos from her Manhattan studio. "I really wanted to explore and go inside their world, find all the textures, layers and passages of just one flower. They are all small universes. I feel captured by their beauty. Flowers are an incredible way for nature to show the infinity of existing colors." Montesinos executed her idea brilliantly through her magnificent brush, great skill, and abundant creative passion.
