We have always been (detail)
2018
José Villalobos
San Antonio, Texas
Artworks shown are selected from works submitted by the artist in their grant or residency application. All works are copyright of the artist or artist’s estate.
About José Villalobos
José Villalobos grew up on the US/Mexico border in El Paso, TX, and was raised in a traditional conservative family. His work reconciles the identity challenges in his life, caught in between traditional Mexican customs and American mores, as well as growing up with religious ideals that contrast with being gay. In his artistic practice, Villalobos explores traditionally "masculine" objects and softens the virility of them. Villalobos received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has exhibited and performed at Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX; El Paso Museum of Art, TX; and El Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He is a 2018 recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant.
Program Participation
Joan Mitchell Center Residency, 2022
Painters & Sculptors Grant, 2018
Website / Social Links
I protest the toxicity of machismo through the use of objects that carry a history, specifically within the Norteño culture, by deconstructing and altering them. Although new forms are created, I demonstrate the battle between the acceptance of being maricón and assimilating to cultural expectations.”
