Opening Reception | William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations
Advance registration is required.
Join the artist, curators, and PAFA community at the opening of this landmark exhibition presenting 20+ years of work by New York-based artist William Villalongo. Myths & Migrations includes Villalongo's iconic paintings, works on paper, and sculpture using velvet flocking, cut paper, and drawing. Come celebrate the only east coast stop of Myths & Migrations!
Recently featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Villalongo's practice is informed by research in the natural and social sciences, mythologies and folklore, popular culture imagery, and the history of art — particularly African objects and their appropriation in Euro-American art movements — exploring invisibility and revelation of Black presence against the backdrop of race. Bodies, objects, and spaces between in Villalongo’s work help navigate ideas about seeing and being seen, while also connecting contemporary concepts of presence and erasure with their antecedents through time and across cultures.
Featured Image: William Villalongo, The Thirsty Laborer (If You Build It), 2012. Medium Acrylic, velvet flocking and paper on wood panel. Accession #2017.16. Photo credit: Susan Inglett Gallery. Copyright © William Villalongo. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Archives, Philadelphia.