Mandy Cano Villalobos is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans installation, 2D, performance, and textile. Her projects explore ideas of home, memory and cultural identity. Cano Villalobos has exhibited in venues including Bridge Projects (Los Angeles, CA), drj art projects (Berlin, DE), Proyecto T (Mexico City), Museum Wilhelm Morgner Kunst (Soest, DE), Modern Art Gallery (Veszprém, Hungary), Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (Arlington, VA), Boston Center for the Arts (Boston, MA), The Wellin Museum of Art (Clinton, NY), Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD), Ukranian Institute of Modern Art, (Chicago, IL), Zolla Lieberman Gallery (Chicago, IL), Museum of New Art (Detroit, MI), Hillyer Art Space (Washington, DC), Gray Contemporary (Houston, TX) and La Casa Pauly (Puerto Montt, Chile). Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, ArtNews, The Washington Post, Sculpture Magazine, Hyperallergic, and The Chicago Reader, among others. She has been awarded grants from multiple organizations including the Gottlieb, Puffin, Frey, and Chenven Foundations, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Cano Villalobos works in Grand Rapids, MI and Brooklyn, NY.
"My childhood was a succession of army bases and new schools. Seeking a sense of belonging, I collected old photos, crusty books, and anything that could provide me with a larger, human narrative to situate my own story. My practice is a form of cultural scraping. I use remnants of everyday life to construct opulent installations and quasi-religious assemblages. My materials – tattered clothes, dismembered toys, broken jewelry, etc. – are embedded with the touch of their former owners. These owners, both real individuals and imagined amalgams of those I have known, are ordinary folk. Overlooked and undervalued, they are my home. I harness their objects to convey their stories and reverence their memories. Castoff possessions become sacred; the abandoned, precious. When I recognize the worth within neglected peoples and things, I see an empathetic potential for viewers to connect with the stories I present, and to see themselves in one another. Only then can we arrive at a home that encompasses difference."
Tell us a little about yourself (where you are from) and your background in the arts.
My mom says I “came out drawing”. I was an only child of a single mother in the army. So, I had a lot of alone time and I had to entertain myself. We also moved around a lot. This is why I’m always seeking a sense of permanence in life. I grew up listening to my mother and aunts recounting familial memories – about my great, great grandfather’s tombstone house, my great grandmother’s bootlegger boyfriend, my grandmother’s passion for country music.
I also grew up in the Episcopalian church, participating in liturgical rituals (lighting candles, leading a procession of rectors and choir members to the altar, collecting tithes, etc.).
All of this factors into my work, in that these generational memories and childhood rituals condition the way I think about myself and my time on earth. Inevitably, these experiences inform my practice.
What kind of work are you currently making?
I’m working on everything right now – installations, textiles, laundry, public projects, dishes, prints, an outdoor pizza oven, small drawings, a brick patio, and teaching my kids how to be self-sufficient. (I’m severely failing on the last front).
It’s hard to separate life from art because the two are deeply intertwined. For example, my kids save candy wrappers and chewed gum for my practice. In return, I let them steal my materials, like tin cars and rabbit feet.
What is a day like in the studio for you?
In the Summer (now), studio time usually happens between midnight and 4am, because my kids are crazy and private time is non-existent during the day. In the school year, I drop the offspring off at 8am and make miracles happen until 3pm. Meaning, I listen to podcasts and Gillian Welch while I work on twenty projects at once. This involves sewing as epoxy cures, or burning papers while paint dries. If I’m materials deficient, I’ll book it to clandestine thrift stores and fb marketplace destinations throughout the region to stock up on crusty paper and synthetic hair.
What are you looking at right now and/or reading?
So, confession, I’m obsessed with the Bible. That book is freaking crazy – full of murder, sex, hatred, love, interpersonal reflection. I also consider it the first forward thinking book that argues for racial and gender equality (if you’re willing to read through the lines and recognize literary sarcasm). I’m also in the throws of “House of the Dragon” – which I binge watch while bedazzle stuffed animal prizes from happy meals.
Where can we find more of your work? (ex. website/insta/gallery/upcoming shows)
Website: www.mandycano.com/thegoods
I have two upcoming shows – one at ARC Gallery in Chicago, and one at Space 1026 in Philadelphia. My work is available at Lafontsee Gallery (Grand Rapids, MI), Proyecto T (Mexico City), and drj art projects (Berlin). I also sell commercial prints directly on my website (www.mandycano.com/thegoods).
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