Villo Varga was born in Budapest, Hungary.Her Parents were art collectors and lived very active intellectual life: their home was like an open salon for literature, arts and sciences. In this environment she started to paint at age 3 - and it is become her favorite activity since. She was selected to a special school of the Children Choir of the Hungarian Radio &Television, where she sang until age 14. There she won a prize in a drawing competition in their district in Budapest. She started to do drawing and sculpting at the Desi Huber evening school under Miklos Kadar and Ferenc Laborcz. At age 15 she won a first prize at her high school ( Mihaly Vorosmarty) art competition. Then she started to study painting at Erno Fischer's evening school. Also participated in special summer art camps where she made studies of live nude models. After high school started an apprenticeship under Jozsef Zsiga chief graphic art conservator at the Hungarian National Gallery; later became an assistant graphic art conservator there. During her employment she continued her studies at the National Szechenyi Library of book conservation; also got a new job as a conservator of artworks on paper in the Budapest Historical Museum, where she worked for several years.Her most important achievement there was the restoration of the complete architectural plans of the Hungarian Opera House by Miklos Ybl. Finished her studies at the Center of Conservation and Methodology of Museums in 1979, Budapest. In the meantime she also attended to the evening school of the Academy of Fine Arts to study nude figure drawing at Csaba Vecsey. In Hungary she participated three major exhibitions: in 1976 and 1977 in the Hungarian National Gallery's Art exhibition of the H.N.Gallery's Employees, where she showed black & white photos and paintings. In 1982 in the "Eldorado" exhibition in the Ujpest Gallery, the theme of the show was the connection between music and visual art - she showed an abstract gouache painting, titled "Woven Sounds". In 1981 got a scholarship to study English language at the Eurocentre, London, U.K. In 1983 she emigrated to the U.S. and worked as a free-lance art conservator. Later joined the Ars Longa International Cooperative and with them went to Austria to participate in the conservation and restoration of a 17th Century church in Siget in der Wart, including uncovering wall paintings and full conservation of the altar painting and polychrome wood statues. Upon her return to the U.S. in 1986 she resided in Northern New Jersey and started to work at the Alvarez Restoration Inc. in Manhattan, there she restored artworks on paper for major art galleries and collections in New York until 1989. In 1990 she became self-employed and since then she has worked for art galleries and collectors among others for the Matignon Gallery, Windwood Gallery, Alexander Kahan Gallery, the Salgo Foundation for Education, the collection of the Stevens Institute of Technology and several other public institution and private collections. After 2006 she started to show her own artworks, since then has widely exhibited at juried art shows: 2024 - Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, 'Unseen Realities' , 'Designed by Nature' 2024 - Roosevelt Island Visual Artists Alliance, 'Tell me a Story' , R.I. NYC 2024 - 2018 Williamsburg Art & Historical Center 23rd-19th Salon exhibition, Brooklyn, NYC 2023 - 'Recycled' Red Hook Art Center Brooklyn, NYC 2023 - Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, 'Current/s/', 'Off the Grid', 'What's New' , Red, Yellow, Orange', Red Hook Art Center Brooklyn, NYC 2023 - The Butler Institute of American Art in AAA exhibition Youngstown, OH
2023 - 2022 Magyarok Haza " Magyar Muvesz Vilag" Topolya museum, Serbia 2022 - 21 Roosevelt Island Artists Alliance "Miracle on Main Street" , R.I. NYC 2021 - Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Spring-, Summer-, Fall shows, Red Hook Art Center, NYC 2021 - 5 Boroughs Art Fair, five artists show, NYC Arts Empire Gallery, New York City 2021 - Out of Courage, exhibition in NYC Arts Empire Gallery, New York City 2020 - Williamsburg Art & Historical Center , open juried show "Works created during lockdown" Brooklyn NYC 2020 - Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Spring online, Summer Art from Inside , Current(s) Red Hook Art Center, NYC 2022, 2019 - American Artists Professional League annual exhibition in Salmagundi Club, New York City 2019 - Solo photography exhibition in the Bergen County Players Theatre , Oradell, NJ 2019 - Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Spring-Coil, Summer Pop-Up, Falling in - and out shows 2023 - 2018 Roosevelt Island Visual Artists Alliance, Vernissage XX. - XXII, Main Gallery, R.I. NY 2018 - Roosevelt Island Visual Artists Alliance, " Fresh Ideas" ( 5) new members show, Octogon Gallery, Roosevelt Island, NY 2018 - Rockaway Artists Alliance, " Of Women" , open juried exhibition, Gallery 7, Rockaway Island, Queens, NY 2022 ,2019 - 2016 Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club's 120th and 121st annual, open juried exhibition in the National Arts Club, New York City 2024 - 2015 Allied Artists of America Inc. annual open juried exhibitions in the Salmagundi Club, New York City and online 2024 - 2010 Audubon Artists Inc. annual open juried exhibitions in the Salmagundi Club, New York City and online 2017 - SingleFare4 exhibition of the New York Academy of Art, Highline Stages, New York City 2017 - Words and pictures Gallery, solo exhibition in Teignmouth, Devon , United Kingdom 2017 - Szepmuhely Gallery , solo exhibition in Budapest, Hungary 2013 - West Essex Art Association, annual open juried exhibition, Crane Mill Towne Square Gallery, West Caldwell, NJ 2012 - 2011 Caldwell Art College, annual open juried exhibition, West Caldwell, NJ 2010 - Mountain Art Show, annual open juried exhibition, Bernardsville, NJ 2009 - 2006 Clifton Arts Center, annual open juried exhibition of Clifton Art Association, Clifton, NJ
AWARDS : Honorable Mention - in the American Artists Professional League - in the Grand Annual exhibition 2019 The National Society of Painters in Casein and in Acrylic Award - in the Audubon Artists exhibition in 2016 The National Society of Painters in Casein and in Acrylic Award - in the Audubon Artists exhibition in 2014 and several awards at outdoor art shows.
MEMBERSHIPS: she is an elected member of the Allied Artists of America and the Audubon Artists; associate member in Roosevelt Island Visual Artists Alliance, Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Rockaway Artists Alliance and the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
PUBLIC COLLECTION : Yuko Nii Foundation
PUBLICATIONS : Bekesi Kalendarium 2019-20-21-22; Interview in Bekesi Ujsag , Hungary 2020; Observica - International art magazine October 2021 ; EDGE magazine - featured artist 2022 Spring issue
