Jose Villalobos: Cicatrices

Presa House is proud to present a solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist and Joan Mitchell Foundation grantee Jose Villalobos. The opening reception will be held First Friday, March 1 from 6:00 to 11:00 PM and features a live performance by the artist you won’t want to miss. Cicatrices is on view by appointment and runs through March 30, 2019.

***This exhibition MAY NOT BE SUITABLE for all ages.***

In Cicatrices, Villalobos juxtaposes distress with a feeling of comfort deriving from patriarchal and religious social structures which marginalize gay identity. Using found objects, he manipulates material through the context of self-identity as he examines gender roles within family culture. Villalobos demonstrates that dismantling traditional modes of masculine identity center an interstitial space where materiality softens the virility. In his work Villalobos protests the toxicity of machismo though the use of objects, specifically within the norteño culture, that carry a history by deconstructing and altering them. Although new forms are created he demonstrates the battle between the acceptance being a maricón and assimilating to the cultural expectations.