Silverlens is pleased to announce its participation in Frieze London 2023 with a solo presentation by pioneering Filipino American modernist Carlos Villa (1936 – 2013). Silverlens will showcase a suite of paintings from the 1980s, in which he used his own face, hands, and body to create monoprints as an exploration of Filipino identity. The presentation willmark the first time Villa's work has been shown in London and honors the ten-year anniversary of the artist's death.
On the occasion of its own 20th anniversary, Frieze has called on several renowned artists to nominate other artists to present solo projects in the fair's invitation-only Artist-to-Artist section. Artist nominators include Wolfgang Tillmans, Haegue Yang, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey Emin, Simone Leigh, and Anthea Hamilton. Silverlens was selected by Anthea Hamilton to present Villa's work.
Carlos Villa was a Filipino American artist, grass-roots activist, curator, author, and 40+ year educator in the San Francisco Bay area. He created strangely human works that challenged colonial perspectives and laid radical claim to a cross-cultural, diasporic identity.
In 2022, Villa received the first-ever major museum retrospective in the United States dedicated to the work of a FilipinoAmerican artist, which toured bi-coastal across three venues.Villa's enduring impact extends beyond his visual art. As an educator, he developed a renowned curriculum that merged critical race theory and active volunteerism, reimagining the role of contemporary artists. Over the years, he mentored students such as Kehinde Wiley, Iona Rozeal Brown, and Paul Pfeiffer, among many others. He additionally founded the highly influential symposia series "Sources of a Distinct Majority," which brought together community and cultural leaders.Esteemed speakers and collaborators included Angela Davis, bell hooks, Ruth Asawa, Martin Puryear, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Through his multifaceted work, Villa aimed to challenge the established canon and rewrite history to honor those who have been marginalized.
Silverlens' presentation at Frieze London highlights Villa's body print works from the 1980s, in which he used his own body, hands, and face to create indexical marks on the canvas. Unlike Yves Klein, who utilized female models as printing tools, Villa foregrounded his own form, as though urging us to acknowledge his Filipino presence. The canvases come alive with imprints of the artist, as if he himself is present in the room, even a decade after his passing.Recently at Frieze New York 2023, Silverlens showcased a solo presentation of Carlos Villa chronicling the artist's work from 1960 to 2000—and his lasting influence on audiences. Running concurrently with Frieze London, Remains of Surface, a duo exhibition featuring the work of CarlosVilla and his life-long friend Leo Valledor (1936 – 1989), another trailblazing Filipino American modernist, is being exhibited at Silverlens New York through 4 November 2023.
Date
Wednesday Preview, October 11 (invitation only): 11am – 7pm
Thursday Preview, October 12: (Members and invitation only preview 11am – 1pm). 1pm – 7pm general admission tickets
Friday, October 13: 11am – 7pm
Saturday, October 14: 11am – 7pm
Sunday, October 15: 11am - 6pm
Location
The Regent's Park, London