WILLIAM VILLALONGO
Obertura de la Espora (Time Dancer), 2017
Acrylic, paper collage and cut velour paper
80 1/4 x 39 1/2 in. 2 Sheets, 40 1/8 x 39 1/2 in. each
85 1/4 x 44 5/8 in. Frame
85 1/4 x 44 5/8 in. Frame
Photo: Argenis Apolinario, NYC
Villalongo borrows the composition for Obertura de la Espora (Time Dancer) from a painting of Jean-Baptiste Belley, a former Haitian slave who became deputy to the French Convention responsible for abolishing slavery in the French colonies. In the 1797 painting, Belley leans against a bust of Raynal, an abolitionist French philosopher, and carries the feathered hat of the liberator of Haiti, General Toussaint L’Ouverture. It is a piece brimming with Black history and emblematic of Villalongo’s mission to reveal figures who have been erased or underserved by history. In conversation with Torkwase Dyson, Villalongo said of this piece, “I couldn’t talk about movement, blackness, and masculinity without recognizing exceptional figures that remind me of how powerful our movements have been in the face of adversity.”
For Villalongo, the use of African masks in his work is a reference to deep time – time that expands deep into history. This is hinted at by the title, which loosely translated from Spanish means ‘overture of the spores.’ Spores are produced by plants and protozoa for survival or reproduction. Some bacterial spores can go into a vegetative state for centuries until conditions are right and can survive desiccation or chemical disinfectants. This is a piece about survival in impossible conditions and remembering important Black figures past, present, and future.
Collection of the Grinnell College Museum of Art
Exhibitions
"William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations," Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, IA, 26 January 2024 - 6 April 2024; traveled to the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI, 4 May 2024 - 18 August 2024; Museum of Art, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 13 September - 21 December 2024; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 15 May 2025 - 31 August 2025."Keep on Pushing," Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC, 26 October 2017 - 9 December 2017.