Portrait of the artist

Carlos Villa

Details

Born

1936

, 

San Francisco

Based

San Francisco

, 

California

Medium

Painting
Sculpture

Style

Abstract
Expressionism

Bio

Carlos Villa (1936-2013) was a San Francisco-born visual artist, grass-roots activist, curator, author, and educator who taught for over 40 years at the San Francisco Art Institute. In 2022, he received the first-ever major museum retrospective dedicated to the work of a Filipino American artist, which toured from the Newark Museum of Art to the San Francisco Art Institute and Asian Art Museum.

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Notable

  • First Filipino American artist to receive a major museum retrospective (2022)
  • Taught for over 40 years at the San Francisco Art Institute
  • Pioneer in discussions about Filipino-American art identity
  • Notable exhibitions include "Manongs, Some Doors and a Bouquet of Crates" (2011) and "Other Sources: An American Essay" (1976)
  • Known for using diverse materials including feathers, paper pulp, bones, acrylic, canvas, and taffeta in his artwork