WILLIAM VILLALONGO
Small abstract paintings stack together to form stocks, a torture device developed in medieval times and sometimes used at slave auctions. The title Stocks and Bonds in the context of this picture speaks to the complexity of cultural and historical bonds as well as the economics of trading bodies as commodities. The compounded effects of such histories live within and alongside contemporary life and become visible in the systemic violence directed at Black life. The artist reflects on the complexity of the Black experience and the difficulty of moving forward.
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.
"New Mythologies," The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture in Charlotte, NC, 26 October 2013 - 20 January 2014.
"Sista Ancesta," Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC, 18 October 2012 - 24 November 2012.