





Welcome to my world of art! Benvenuti!
Visit my platform VILLICANA.IT
where you can find out about my various projects and companies.
Greetings, friends, artists, art lovers, and collectors!
Thank you for visiting my website. Please let me introduce myself.
My name is Danielle Villicana, and I'm an American artist, art dealer, speaker, and collector passionate about the transformative power of art! Below is a bit about my story and passion for art.
I invite you to join me on a journey of discovery, exploration, and art inspiration!
Please sign up for my newsletter below to get news directly in your email box about our exhibitions and events, including my following companies, brands, and projects.
A lot of exciting things have been happening!
VI DA Studios opened on December 12, 2023, in Florence (Firenze) Tuscany at the following location:
Via del Purgatorio 14R, 50122 Firenze (FI), Italy, Cell +39 338 600 5593 / +1 626 807-0626. Another location opened in Arezzo at Via Cavour 113, 52100 Arezzo (AR), Italy, on April 1, 2024.
The opening of these studios is part of my and our 450-year celebrations for Giorgio Vasari!
Please sign up at the bottom of this page and join our incredible contemporary art community.
All invitations to our exhibitions and events will be sent directly to your email box with creativity and love.
Visit my various websites via the platform VILLICANA.IT or directly on the icons at the top of the page and I invite you to follow and share with me on social media.
I also invite you to become a benefactor, patron, or member of our International Nonprofit & Associazione Culturale PARADISE FOR ARTISTS in honor of the painter, architect & biographer Giorgio Vasari and contemporary artists!
We are organizing sensational exhibitions and events for our beloved Giorgio Vasari.
Please join us and participate! There will be exhibits, conferences, an art auction, a special dinner, and much more.
I appreciate your interest!
Un abbraccio forte. Big hugs, and please collect art from contemporary artists!
Danielle Villicana
Upcoming events:
In Florence:
"31: Verso La Luce I"
January 31 - February 15, 2025
Opening Reception / Vernissage
Friday, January 31 at 6 PM
VI DA Studios - Via del Purgatorio 14R - 50123 Firenze (FI) Italy
Cell. +39 338 605593
In Arezzo:
"31: Verso La Luce II"
February 28 - March 15, 2025
Opening Reception / Vernissage
Friday, February 28 at 6 PM
Via Cavour 85 - 52100 Arezzo (AR) Italy
Cell. +39 338 605593
Grazie a tutti! Thanks, everyone, and see you soon!
Please reach out to me with any questions. Feel free to call or send me an email or WhatsApp message. I love artists and collectors.
Viva l'Arte! Viva Giorgio Vasari! e Viva Arezzo!
Danielle Villicana
A special moment with Florentine journalist Jacopo Chiostri and Artist & Art Dealer Danielle Villicana at the opening reception of Danielle Villicana: LUCE (LIGHT)
at VI DA Studios in Florence (Firenze) on September 27, 2024 - Photo © 2024 Luca Cavallini
A LITTLE ABOUT DANIELLE'S STORY AND PASSION FOR ART
Danielle Villicana is an American artist, art dealer, and speaker.
Danielle was born in San Francisco, California, and raised in Pasadena and Laguna Beach. She is the proud daughter of Dr. Alexander Villicana, MD, one of the world's most excellent plastic and reconstructive surgeons from Los Angeles. Danielle's mother, Margaret Sue, is a real estate broker and business mogul.
Danielle now splits her time between Los Angeles, Arezzo, and Firenze (Florence), Tuscany in Italy.
The Early Years
Her life as an artist began at a young age. She was always a very crafty kid and loved playing piano and speaking French, which she commenced at the age of five, as well as cooking, gardening, drawing, and creating. Her favorite pastime was writing to famous people, sticker companies such as Mrs. Grossman's, and entering contests because she loved reaching out to people and receiving mail.
Danielle won her first award for drawing at age six from the Pasadena Star-News, which sent her a cash award for $5 (lots of candy money back in those days), and they published the drawing of her favorite doll in the newspaper. That was the event that got the ball rolling. She spent much of her childhood in the Huntington Gardens and the Norton Simon in Pasadena, lots of trips to the La Brea Tar Pits, LACMA, and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in Los Angeles, and her love for art, the Indians, and culture, in general, continued to grow. The Pasadena Symphony and seeing theater in Pasadena and Los Angeles were a part of her upbringing. She chose to pursue theater, music, and singing in high school, as well as leadership and French, her favorite subjects.
At eleven, she visited the magnificent city of London, Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of the great playwright Shakespeare, and the mind-boggling and surreal Stonehenge on her first trip abroad with her family. It was an eye-opening trip. The tulips were in bloom, and visits to places including Buckingham Palace and the Wedgwood Factory proved decisive in directing her interests toward art and Europe. She took another trip with her school the following year and visited Spain, France, Switzerland, and Italy. Danielle made up her mind at twelve that Europe was her ultimate destination. She never went back on that decision, that dream. She went forward and seized it years later after college!
The trip to London and visiting the home of Shakespeare fueled her interest and passion for theater. In contrast, visiting France opened her eyes to the beauty of medieval cities like Carcassonne and beautiful foods, pâté, and wine. Italy and Spain opened her eyes to art, visiting the Prado for the first time, discovering exceptional artist El Greco, visiting Venice, the balcony of Romeo and Juliet, Verona, and Milan, indeed too many beautiful experiences to note in this short introduction. It was all fantastic, especially the Swiss chocolate. A private art collection in Lugano was so memorable. She was only twelve but thoroughly captivated by all the art and architecture. Danielle dedicated most of her time for the following ten years to the same topics: music, theater, French, and art, participating in countless plays, winning numerous awards for acting, experience as a stage manager and director, and working in just about every aspect on and behind the stage.
Laguna Beach High School - Home of the Artists
At the age of thirteen, upon moving to Laguna Beach to attend high school, an event that completely changed her life, she decided to become an artist. However, she was unsure what kind, perhaps an actress, a fine artist, an international businesswoman, only time would tell. That same year, she traveled to New York City for the first time. She had her first experiences in the Big Apple, where she visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MoMA, Carnegie Hall, Storm King Art Center, and other incredible museums. She also saw several musicals on Broadway.
In high school, Danielle blossomed. She was the president of the sophomore class, and in her junior year, she was the activities director for the Associated Student Body (ASB). In her Junior year, she was awarded a prestigious Women's Leadership Award, California Girl's State, where she was chosen as the one female in the junior class to be honored and sent to Sacramento for a week to work on leadership skills with other women from high schools across California. She won the French Achievement Award. Danielle was President of the Thespians at Laguna Beach High School. She worked for the Shakespeare Festival/LA for a few summers; they were all great experiences. She also worked for the Recreation Department of Laguna Beach for two years on the Battle of the Bands musical event. In her senior year, Danielle was voted in as the Associated Student Body President, the first female President in seven years, which was a huge honor and an enriching experience.
Danielle met some exciting and noted artists then, including figurative and abstract artist Vladimir Sokolov, impressionist painter Anton Sipos, and professor of Sculpture at Boston University Elbert Weinberg. They all had a profound influence on her. Thanks to meeting them and living in the art colony of Laguna Beach, filled with outstanding artists, she began to pursue visual arts.
College Years: San Francisco and Los Angeles
Upon graduation from Laguna Beach High School in 1990, Danielle moved to San Francisco, her natal city, in search of her roots and new pastures, and studied music, singing, French, and art history for a year at San Francisco State University, taking a break from the theater. In the summer of 1991, Danielle was awarded a scholarship from the French Consulate of California to study in Alsace, France, for a summer workshop. She also spent a month visiting the countless museums in Paris: the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée Rodin, the Musee de l'Orangerie, and numerous others. She also began writing, which she very much enjoys today. The following year, she decided to return to Los Angeles and complete her studies in theater at Occidental College, as they had just built the magnificent new Keck Theater, and the stage was calling her. Danielle performed in numerous plays in College as well as directed a play in French about Molière, amongst other projects, including assistant stage managing for a professional theater group Singular Productions in Hollywood and working as an Assistant to Director Mark Burman for the film Ricky Rosen's Bar Mitzvah.
In 1993, Danielle had the incredible luck to meet conceptual artist Eugenia Butler and conducted the role of assistant to Eugenia on the project The Kitchen Table presented at ART/LA'93 fair, where artists of the caliber of Marina Abramovic, Carolee Schneemann, Felipe Ehrenberg and other thirty figures of international fame were present. Danielle interned for distinguished Hollywood art dealer Jan Baum the same year at the Jan Baum Gallery on La Brea. These two internships completely changed her life, opening her to the real world of contemporary art in Los Angeles and the international scene.
Danielle graduated with a B.A. from Occidental College of Los Angeles in Art History and the Visual Arts with a minor in Theater and French in 1994. She was one class and project short of having a double major in theater, but she was itching to go. With her teacher's encouragement, she was on a plane seven days after graduation to Europe to study classical drawing and painting. She had a burning need to see with her very own eyes the paintings she had learned in her art history classes. She had also been introduced to Giorgio Vasari by Art History Prof. Marjorie Och. She had read the Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, a book that, unbeknownst to her, would later very much influence and change her life.
Artist Danielle Villicana - Florence, Italy in 2003 - On top of the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore
Classical Drawing and Painting in Firenze & Prato, Italy
and the Czech Republic
Danielle's love for the Renaissance and art history took her to Firenze (Florence), Italy, in the fall of 1994. She studied at the leading Florentine atelier, from Charles Cecil Studios to The Florence Academy in 1995 to the studio of Master Silvestro Pistolesi in 1996. She studied art history and traveled all over Italy with the architect
Prof. Andrea Canepele. He taught a small group of students from the Charles Cecil Studios art history, Italian culture, and the Italian language. They visited gorgeous cities all over Italy, including Florence, Arezzo, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Venice, Padova, Viareggio, Carrara, Pietrasanta, Ferrara, Milan, Bologna, Genova, Cortona, Lucca, Barga, Siena, Perugia, Carrara, Montalcino, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Parma, and countless other beautiful cities.
Danielle also studied printmaking with Sweitlan Kracyzna and Santa Reparata International School of Art
and mural drawing with Petr Jochman at Brno University in the Czech Republic. Afterward, she frequented the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze (Academy of Fine Arts in Florence) from 1997 to 1998, and in the same year learned the techniques of fresco painting at the school Vainella of Leonetto Tintori in Prato. What was to be one year of studies abroad had turned into four! She considered moving to New York and getting a Master's. She even checked out NYU in person, which she liked very much, as it is opposite the Metropolitan Museum. Still, Florence was so gorgeous that she decided to stay there and study in what is universally known as one of the most magnificent cities of the world, Florentia, and study the paintings she was interested in learning about from life.
In 1997, Danielle had her first solo exhibit in Barga, Italy. The following year, in 1998, she returned to the United States and had her second exhibition in Pasadena, California, at El Portal, curated by Susana Smith Bautista. Immediately, her paintings began to sell, and she received several portrait commissions. She officially started her career as an international artist and portrait painter.
Sculpting and Painting in Las Vegas and Los Angeles
In the summer of 1998, Danielle moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and began working for the international theming company Treadway Industries, where she worked on prestigious projects, including The Venetian Hotel & Casino, Aladdin Gaming, Universal Studios Japan, Disney California Adventure, and others, as a sculptress, mural painter, and decorator from 1998 until 2000. Her duties included sculpting in the Art Department under the direction of '"Smokin'" Joe McWilliams. Several months after her arrival, she was promoted. She became part of the Sales & Marketing team, working with architects and designers, and Assistant to the CEO Peter Brake. She later founded the Mural Painting and Fresco Department, where she was the Creative Director.
In Los Angeles, Danielle worked as a mural painter with Saltman Art in Burbank in 1999 on the Venetian Hotel & Casino, creating architectural trompe l'oeil decoration with an incredible team of artists, including Guerino Lovato from Venice.
Sculpting and Film in Bracciano, Rome and Tuscany
At the end of these projects in Las Vegas, in June 2001, Danielle returned to Italy to work for the summer with noted American sculptor Milton Hebald at his studio in Bracciano, Rome. In the fall she resumed her studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze (Academy of Fine Arts in Florence), and soon after transferred to the Accademia di Belle Arti Roma (Academy of Fine Arts in Rome), where she studied figurative and abstract art with artists and Prof. Costantino Baldino. Shortly after, she began working in the art department of production designer Francesco Frigeri at Cinecittà, where she interned from 2002 to 2003 on Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ.
In the meantime, Danielle continued her plastic and pictorial research, experimenting with abstraction.
Putting Down Roots in Arezzo, Tuscany - Italy
Feeling the need to settle down after so much traveling around and living in big cities, Danielle decided to move to the oasis of Arezzo in 2005, ideally located between Florence and Rome, her favorite cities, and easily accessible via train to any city in Italy and thus began her project Villa Margherita a Paradise for Artists in Tuscany, named in honor of her mother, Margaret Sue. Different things had attracted her to the area, including Spanish horses. She worked with dressage expert and incredibly talented Cavaliere and Horse Trainer Silver Massarenti in Osaia near Cortona for a summer and afterward at the Pony Club at The Arezzo Equestrian Center. A mix of horses and art attracted Danielle to Arezzo, as did beautiful memories of previous visits to Arezzo with her Prof. Andrea Canepele, who also loved the area, and with Prof. Franco Milani and the Laboratorio per affresco di Vainella. She would like to share a little about it in this introduction because she is often asked, why Arezzo? Her first answer is always, "It's a GORGEOUS city!" Then, the real reason Danielle first came to Arezzo was to visit the Casa Vasari and the Museo Nazionale di Arte Medievale e Moderna. Arezzo is the home to the Father of Art History and The First Art Historian, architect, painter, and biographer, the great Giorgio Vasari, who wrote The Lives.
Then, if you are a fresco artist and lover, as is Danielle, she specializes in fresco painting; Arezzo is the home to the frescoes of Piero della Francesca, The Legend of the True Cross, and the Maria Maddalena.
Arezzo is a breathtaking, magnificent city of Etruscan origin, filled with brilliant people, including Petrarca and Guido Monaco, and spectacular treasures. Poetry, music, and art are powerhouses for thought and art. Leonetto Tintori, the founder of the school where Danielle learned fresco in Prato, il Laboratorio per alfresco di Vainella, did many restorations of Piero in Arezzo and Sansepolcro, where he even discovered some Piero paintings. Due to this, Danielle has always been very connected to Piero della Francesca and has met great restorers such as Guido Botticelli and the wonderful Silvano Lazzeri. Vainella was the world leader in teaching fresco painting. It is a very special school that continues teaching these beautiful techniques today. Danielle is also fond of The Tarlati polyptych, one of her teachers' favorites, Architect Andrea Canepele, which he shared with his students on one of their first excursions in 1994. This masterpiece, which has recently been lovingly restored, was painted by the Italian artist Pietro Lorenzetti and is located at the church of Santa Maria della Pieve in the historical center of Arezzo. Danielle also loves Arezzo for the fabulous food, the delightful people, the sensational jewelry, and the beautiful nature surrounding the city. So many incredible towns are nearby, including La Verna, Poppi, Cortona, Monterchi, Anghiari, Sansepolcro, Citta di Castello, Siena and countless others.
Arezzo was the birth city of countless incredible artists and great thinkers, including architect, painter, and biographer Giorgio Vasari. One of the greatest fresco painters of all time, Michelangelo, was born in the Province of Arezzo, in Caprese Michelangelo. Danielle felt she had found an artist's Paradise to call home.
Soon after, Danielle obtained her diploma in painting with the highest honors, 110 e lode, in 2006 from the Accademia di Belle Arti Roma (Academy of Fine Arts in Rome), completing her studies with a thesis on sgraffito fresco painting. She began teaching drawing, oil and acrylic painting, and buon fresco painting workshops at
Villa Margherita in the same year. She also taught the English language (ESL) privately and did Italian to English translations, which she did for the following ten years as a side hustle and a way to become a part of the community, share, and give back. She enjoyed giving her best to inspire her English students to soar and shoot for the stars. Danielle is very proud of every one of them.









Exhibitions, events & special moments at the VILLICANA gallery & International Nonprofit PARADISE FOR ARTISTS
The Birth of the Villicana Galleria D'Arte
In 2010, Danielle opened a contemporary art gallery in the historical center of Arezzo, Tuscany. It immediately became a favored meeting place for Italian and foreign artists. The gallery organized fifty-five solo and group exhibitions in three years, accompanied by numerous artist interviews, musical events, and poetry readings.
In 2013, she closed the gallery and opened Via Cavour 85, another project dedicated to contemporary art and artists.
In 2015, Florentine journalist Fabrizio Borghini awarded Danielle a "Premio Toscana Cultura" for her excellence in promoting contemporary art.
Villicana Gallery. and ARTwalk + tour gastronomico ITALY
Expanding internationally, in January of 2016, Danielle founded VILLICANA gallery, an international contemporary art gallery and artists agency headquartered in Pasadena, California, with Unità locale status in Arezzo, Italy. In 2016, she also launched her project ARTwalk + tour gastronomico ITALY.
The gallery represents Danielle Villicana's work and top local and international contemporary artists. It also provides consulting services for artists and art collectors and writes catalogs and ebooks on contemporary artists.
In 2021, she opened another new space in the historical center of Arezzo called Via Cavour 113. This space is her studio, which she loves to share with artists. Visiting international guest artists may hold workshops or create work while visiting Arezzo and Tuscany.
Artist and Art Dealer Danielle Villicana and Journalist Fabrizio Borghini at "Una Festa per Giorgio Vasari" on July 30, 2021, on his 510th birthday.
We were at our first event for PARADISE FOR ARTISTS in Arezzo at VIA CAVOUR 85, now the official headquarters for the Associazione Culturale PARADISE FOR ARTISTS and the Arezzo Chapter for our International organization. I will forever be grateful to Fabrizio Borghini for his help and love for the arts, culture, and Tuscany.
Photo © 2021 Lorenzo Prodezza & PARADISE FOR ARTISTS
Our International Nonprofit PARADISE FOR ARTISTS
In the same year, Danielle co-founded an International Nonprofit organization. PARADISE FOR ARTISTS was created on May 12, 2021, in honor of architect, artist, and biographer Giorgio Vasari and contemporary artists. This organization is headquartered in Pasadena, California. In December of the same year, a chapter of the American organization was founded in Arezzo, Tuscany in Italy, in Giorgio Vasari's hometown, called the Associazione Culturale PARADISE FOR ARTISTS, making it the first International Nonprofit in honor of Giorgio Vasari, also known as "Giorgino d'Arezzo." Giorgio Vasari is known as "The Father of Art History" and "The First Art Historian" worldwide.
We invite you to join and get involved with our International Nonprofit dedicated to Giorgio Vasari and contemporary artists. Don't hesitate to contact us if you'd like to participate in our Nonprofit PARADISE FOR ARTISTS. We would love to have you as a member or sponsor!
If you love Giorgio Vasari and contemporary artists, contact Danielle and join PARADISE FOR ARTISTS today! We are working on making an equestrian monument in his honor.
VI DA Studios (Danielle Villicana Studios)
In December of 2023, Danielle opened VI DA Studios, short for Danielle Villicana Studios. in Florence, Italy. The art studio is magnificent and located in the heart of the fashion and antique district in the historical center of Florence at Via del Purgatorio 14r, a two-minute walk from Palazzo Strozzi, and many other museums for contemporary art, including Museo Marino Marini, Museo del Novecento as well as close to Palazzo Corsini, Palazzo Ferragamo, Ponte Vecchio, the Vasari Corridor, the Uffizi Galleries, Pitti Palace, the Duomo, Santa Maria Novella, and much more.
Via Cavour 113 in Arezzo is officially called VI DA Studios as of April 2024. The nickname of the studio in Florence is "Paradise" as it is located on Via del Purgatorio 14R on the corner of Via del'Inferno, so as you can imagine, "Paradise" is the perfect name for our little Bottega, a "paradise" for artists. Danielle created these two studios as a special gift to Giorgio Vasari and contemporary artists for the 450th Commemoration & Celebration of Giorgio Vasari on June 27, 2024. He made the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, so she thought it would be nice to create two studios in two of the most beautiful cities in the world, Florence and Arezzo.
Los Angeles and Tuscany
Danielle currently divides her time between her studios in Florence (Firenze), Tuscany and Arezzo, Tuscany in Italy, and Los Angeles, California. She creates art, both figurative and abstract. She is a classically trained portraitist and makes paintings and murals in all mediums, including oil, acrylic, fresco, and mixed media. She also makes ceramics and sculpture. Her main activity since 2010 has been that of an art dealer, a curator of exhibitions, a creator of catalogs and publications, and an organizer of events for contemporary artists. She has organized approximately one hundred twenty exhibitions and various events. She has published over fifty catalogs on contemporary and modern art, two of which are on her artwork: American Spirit and Mimi, Cocò & Co., both available for sale on Amazon. She has also had over 100 television appearances, including interviews, coverage of her exhibitions, and personal artwork; she has been written about in the press in numerous printed and online articles in the US and Italy.
Danielle is available for collaborations or as an artist, curator, writer, and speaker; her preferred topics are Giorgio Vasari, contemporary art, and culture.
Artwork, ARTwalk + tour gastronomico ITALY, and Buon Fresco Workshops
Information about Danielle's artwork and the artists she represents may be found on her gallery website: VILLICANAgallery.com. If you'd like to purchase or commission work or exhibit in Arezzo at Via Cavour 85
or the VILLICANA gallery, or participate in an ARTwalk + tour gastronomico ITALY event; feel free to contact Danielle.
Danielle's absolute greatest passion is fresco painting. Suppose you'd like to learn the art of buon fresco painting. In that case, Danielle offers "Treat Yourself to Paradise—7 and 14-day Buon Fresco Painting Workshops" upon request in spring, summer, and fall at her home and studio, Villa Margherita, a Paradise for Artists in Tuscany. See a video of one of Danielle's sgraffito murals (Renaissance Sgrafitto Mural). Feel free to contact Danielle for information and to schedule a workshop.
Since 1994, Danielle has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Italy and the United States. She loves the great American photographer and modern art promoter Alfred Stieglitz. She follows his example, showing in most of the group exhibitions that she curates and organizes at her gallery. Danielle's works may be found in private and public collections in the US and Italy.
Artist, Art Dealer, Speaker & Collector Danielle Villicana at VI DA Studios Firenze.
Photo © 2024 Kiyoko Hirai
Join my Mailing List
Sign up for Danielle's mailing list and contact her via the forms below. You may click on the logos at the top of the page to access her various projects. A few projects are in the making, so check or call for info.
Contact Danielle
Journalist Fabrizio Borghini & Artist & Art Dealer Danielle Villicana
Al Vernissage di ARTwalk + tour gastronomico ITALY, "Fiori dal Mal", 24 giugno 2021 - Artwork © Andrea Facchini
Photo © 2021 Lorenzo Prodezza & VILLICANA gallery
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