Carlos Villa

Carlos Villa

b. 1936, San Francisco
d. 2013, San Francisco

Carlos Villa was a multimedia and performance artist who explored the meaning of cultural diversity and multicultural issues in the arts through work in a variety of materials, including oil and acrylic paints, aluminum, steel, bronze, wood, feathers, blood, mirrors, fiber, and found objects. Villa’s performances, which he called “actions,” were an exploration of his Filipino heritage, and were woven with Asian, Oceanic, and African cultures to create a visual anthropology to represent his personal background and an expanded the definition of “multicultural” in the arts. Villa received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Mills College, Oakland, California. He served on the faculty of the San Francisco Art Institute for many years and was an influential presence in the Bay Area through his work and teaching. Villa was the recipient of many awards and grants, including a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Carlos Villa, First Coat, 1977. Acrylic and feathers on unstretched canvas, 90 x 84 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of Carlos Villa