The multidisciplinary artist José Villalobos grew up on the U.S./Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, and was raised in a traditional and religiously (Evangelical) conservative family. His work reconciles the identity challenges in his life, caught between traditional Mexican customs and American mores, as well as growing up with religious ideals that conflict with and condemn being gay.: Villalobos manipulates material through the context of self-identity as he examines gender roles within family culture, demonstrating that dismantling traditional modes of masculine identity centers an interstitial space where materiality softens virility.Recommendation: See this vivid show of highly resonant work, the inaugural exhibition in the new Big Medium space – from the folks who bring our lucky city the annual Austin Studio Tour.

Big Medium: Fuertes y Firmes

The multidisciplinary artist José Villalobos grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, and was raised in a traditional and religiously (Evangelical) conservative family. His work reconciles the identity challenges in his life, caught between traditional Mexican customs and American mores, as well as growing up with religious ideals that conflict with and condemn being gay.: Villalobos manipulates material through the context of self-identity as he examines gender roles within family culture, demonstrating that dismantling traditional modes of masculine identity centers an interstitial space where materiality softens virility.Recommendation: See this vivid show of highly resonant work, the inaugural exhibition in the new Big Medium space – from the folks who bring our lucky city the annual Austin Studio Tour.