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William Villalongo & Robert Blanchon at Franklin Art Works
Opening November 18, 2006. 6-8pm

Minneapolis - Franklin Art Works will present large-scale paintings, cut velour drawings, and a stained glass work by the New York artist William Villalongo. Also on view will be an exhibition of photographs by the artist Robert Blanchon presented in part as a World AIDS Day Event.

An opening reception for Mr. Villalongo will take place on November 18 from 6 to 8pm. Admission is free. The exhibitions remain on view through January 13, 2007.

William Villalongo: How The West Was Won

The fast-rising New York artist will present a series of acrylic paintings on velvet, cut velour drawings, and monumental stained glass window, in FAW's Main Gallery. Villalongo's works take root in world cultural myth and spirituality, unsettling pervasive themes and associations regarding cultural identity, sexuality, and the role of the artist.

Villalongo has been featured in exhibitions at the Studio Museum in Harlem, The Moore Space (Miami), the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Feigen Contemporary and Esso Gallery (New York), as well as the landmark Greater New York (2005) exhibition at PS1 (Long Island City, New York)

This will be the artist's first exhibition in Minnesota.

Robert Blanchon: Loss, Memory & Mortality

Franklin Art Works will present a selection of photographs and sculptural works by the former Chicago and New York-based artist Robert Blanchon, who died of complications from AIDS in 1998, in FAW's Project Space. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with VisualAIDS (New York) and Robert Blanchon's estate, and will coincide with World AIDS Day (December 1, 2006), and the publication of a monograph by Visual AIDS.

This is Blanchon's first solo exhibition in seven years.