Thursday, October 5, 2017

NEW YORK: WILLIAM VILLALONGO

Keep On Pushing
October 26 - December 9, 2017

Artist Reception: Thursday, October 26, 2017, 6 pm to 8 pm

SUSAN INGLETT GALLERY
522 West 22nd Street
New York, NY

From Susan Inglett Gallery e-blast:

Susan Inglett Gallery is pleased to present Keep on Pushing, an exhibition of new cut-paper work and paintings on panel by William Villalongo.

Known for irreverent riffs on the art historical "muse," Villalongo has made episodic paintings and works on paper, which underscore historical erasure and master narratives of desire. In his fifth solo exhibition at Susan Inglett Gallery, the artist turns his attention to the black male figure, while returning to his signature cut velvet paper works.

This new body of work suggests a re-imagining of the black male figure at a time when current events and statistics reflect a social reality of limited expectations, contingency, and disproportionate fear. Within the dark tones of these meditations on physiology, the artist uses metaphors of invisibility, nature, and reformation as necessary conditions of being. Much like fallen autumn leaves, Villalongo's men navigate their world, subject to an unpredictable wind - piling, spinning, and re-collecting. The work conjures spaces of sensuality, humor, and history. Titled after Curtis Mayfield's 1970 hit song, "Keep on Pushing," this body of work speaks to the inherent human spirit's will to persevere and to find a way.



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