MMoCA Newsletter - Winter 2024

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
WILLIAM VILLALONGO
Myths and Migrations
Main Galleries • May 3–August 4, 2024
William Villalongo: Myths and
Migrations showcases 34 works created
in the last two decades by the Brooklynbased
artist William Villalongo. Highly
recognized for his paintings, collages,
and signature velour paper cut-outs,
Villalongo’s striking visual narratives
invite the viewer to engage with the complexities
and precarity of Black existence.
SHILPA GUPTA
I did not tell you what I saw, but only what I dreamt
June 28, 2024–January 14, 2025
The exhibition, I did not tell you what I
saw, but only what I dreamt presents several
recent installation works, photographs,
and drawings by the internationally known,
Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta. A conceptual
artist, Gupta’s interactive pieces
center on human agency and the power of
information to shape both societal behavior
and one’s identity.
Known for his imaginative approach
towards combining various genres with
sensuous materials, the artist reimagines
historical narratives and myths to
underscore the erasure of the Black and
immigrant experience. In his early depictions
of a mythical, hot-house world filled
with an almost all-female cast, (Rhombus,
2010) the artist turns to the art historical
canon to wryly comment on the struggle
for artistic acceptance and reassess
African-American artistic histories.
More recently, Villalongo utilizes myth
and history to expand our understanding
of Black culture and its layered past
throughout the millennia. Villalongo’s
large-scale mixed-media series of a single
Black male protagonist enveloped within a swirling mix of cultural artifacts and natural elements
emphasizes transformation, resilience, and beauty. He metaphorically suggests a Black subject
who continually modifies and redefines their identity while navigating the world through time and
space. Villalongo’s compositions call attention to the fraught condition of Black life and honor the
power of the human spirit.
This exhibition is organized by the Grinnell College Museum of Art.
Major Sponsorship for William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations is generously provided by Mary
Ellyn and Joe Sensenbrenner in memory of Stephen Fleischman. Additional support is provided
by Dan and Natalie Erdman, Darcy Kind and Marc Vitale, and Jim and Jessica Yehle.
RELATED EVENTS
EXHIBITION CELEBRATION
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Reception, 5–8 PM • Artist talk and performance, 6–7 PM
Listen as William Villalongo discusses the evolution of his artistic practice, culminating with
works in Myths and Migrations. Following the talk, composer and pianist Igor Santos will
perform a collaborative multi-media piano piece, Offering. The original composition features
a synced video montage of works from the exhibition amid a milieu created by Villalongo;
their other collaboration, Beacon, is included in the exhibition. Free admission
PAGE 6: William Villalongo, Rhombus, 2010. Acrylic, paper, and velvet flocking on wood panel, 75 x 58 x 2 inches. Courtesy of Miyoung
Lee and Neil Simpkins. PAGE 7: Shilpa Gupta, For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit (detail), 2023. Casts of 100 books in gun metal, wooden
and glass vitrines with light bulbs. 114 1/4 x 127 x 127 inches. © 2023 Amant, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Curated by Ruth
Estévez. Coproduced by Amant and Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
A constant theme throughout Gupta’s practice
is her inquiry into language and how it
is often utilized by both dominant institutions
and individuals to inform our understanding
of reality—as a means to define
and enforce societal values, or as a tool to
spark new possibilities and challenge power
structures.
Referring to her work as “everyday art” Gupta’s sparse installations rely on a range of unassuming materials
including photography, text, audio, and sculptural objects. Contemporary technologies play a large
role in her practice, such as in her work Speaking Wall, (2009–2010). In this interactive audio piece, the
visitor wears headphones while walking on a platform of bricks on the floor as Gupta’s voice—in alternating
authoritative and suggestive tones—directs one across an invisible and shifting border. In other
pieces, the artist introduces objects such as flags and maps as visible indicators of geopolitical struggles
over national borders, immigration issues, religious censorship, and the repression of free speech.
Inspired by her personal experiences yet deliberately elusive, Gupta’s work communicates across cultures.
Often incorporating many languages and perspectives, Gupta allows the visitor to arrive at their
own understanding of the work and to formulate individual associations, dependent on where or when
it is encountered.
TEEN FORUM
Henry Street Gallery • March 21, 2024–July 21, 2024
MMoCA’s Teen Forum gives students with an
interest in art real-life museum experience.
Guided by MMoCA’s educators, these high school
students from across Dane County meet at the
Museum biweekly to learn more about careers
in the arts, and the inner workings of a museum.
Their time at MMoCA culminates by organizing
an exhibition drawn from the Museum’s permanent
collection.
Staff guide the Teen Forum members as they
organize the exhibition. Participants develop an
Image courtesy of MMoCA
exhibition concept, select works, and consider the
layout and installation of the exhibition, write explanatory labels, and create educational programming.
The Teen Forum is made possible through an estate gift from Shirley A. Kubly, with additional support
from Nancy Mohs. Exhibitions in the Henry Street Gallery are generously funded through an endowment
established by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.
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