Fatima Ronquillo
“Winged Victory Riding a Tiger” 2022 Fatima Ronquillo, oil on aluminum panel
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Aix-en-Provence
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? Definitely 80s tropical: Matching white wicker headboard, end tables and vanity/desk table. This was in the Philippines, and my bedroom windows faced the lanai.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A 19th Century Chinese elmwood tall kitchen cabinet bought when I was in my early twenties. It has survived several moves and stored all manner of things, from art supplies, books, canned goods, and currently bed linens.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer, who would it be? Billy Baldwin because I would like my own “garden in hell”.
No room is complete without books and lamps.
People think of me as calm and serious, but I am really rarely calm and rarely serious.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Red stuff
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Nothing, I love food
A bar cabinet: Everything but whiskey
A song for:
Dinner at home: “No Hay Problema” by Pink Martini
Working at your desk: “Clara Schumann’s Piano Sonata in G Minor” by Isata Kanneh-Mason
Going for a run: “Girlfriend” by Christine and the Queens
Biggest Vice? Butter
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? All the fabric, I’ve taken up sewing, but I really just buy fabric.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? No, I like a minimalist aesthetic when it comes to clothes but my art is very much maximalist.
Who is your star crush? The two Queen Charlottes—Golda Rosheuvel and India Amarteifio
What is the one thing you would never decorate your home with, but don’t detest when you see others do it? A white sofa (although I’ve done it in the past, but never again).
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Filipino Style, a gorgeous book of Philippine interiors.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? It’s not something I want to think about.
“child with armadillo and golden-cheeked warbler” 2022 fatima ronquillo, oil on aluminum panel
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth)
Book: For keeps Jane Austen’s Emma but currently The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Scent: El Cosmico by DS & Durga
The fabric you always come back to: Linen
Dream project: I don’t know since I already paint what I like and love
Meal: Kare-kare, a Filipino ox-tail stew
Drink: Sauvignon blanc and earl grey rooibos tea
Hotel: El Paisano, Marfa, TX
Travel Destination: Tokyo, Japan
Artist: Antoine Watteau
A cause near and dear to me: Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Navajo Water Project
Thing to collect obsessively: Books
Era in the history of design: Mexican modernism
Museum: Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena
Paint Color that always looks great: French gray
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: @periodportraits
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs
