Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Stumbling Upon EL GRAN TOUR

Curator, Gladys Peña-Acosta showing us the HOMENAJE: Jorge Soto Sánchez
exhibit at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College, during El Gran Tour.

Recently I received a random email with some information that looked really interesting to me. It was an invitation that wrote:"In honor of Puerto Rican Heritage Month, The New York Regional Office of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in collaboration with The Puerto Rican Creative Network, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer invite you to accompany us on the first annual 'El Gran Tour: Experiencing Puerto Rican Visual Artists' Artworks and Spaces.'" I didn't know exactly what to expect, but it sounded like it would be right up my alley, so I RSVP'd right away!El Gran Tour took place on Sunday, November 15th, starting out with a breakfast at the Metropolitan Museum at 9am. Having to wake up that early on a Sunday was certainly a test of my commitment to attending this event - I even arrived ten minutes early! Actually, lots of folks did; after waiting for a while in the lobby, we were ushered in to a room for a catered continental breakfast. It was a very welcoming environment, people mingled and it seemed to be a mix of arts and museum officials, artists, art-lovers, college students and local politicians. After a while Brenda Torres of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration addressed the room to explain what we were there for. As it turns out, this was the very first of El Gran Tours which they envision becoming an ongoing annual event - created by the Puerto Rican Creative Network, which is also just in the process of forming. So we were all in on the ground floor together. From there, we were addressed by a number of people who were involved in the creation of El Gran Tour, including Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez who said a few words about the impact of Puerto Rican art and culture in New York, and touched on the current economic crisis going on in Puerto Rico. Representatives of the arts organizations participating on El Gran Tour spoke: Liberdad Guerra from Loisaida Center, Miguel Trellis from the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, John MacElwee from the Hostos Center for Arts and Culture and Nitza Tufiño from Taller Boricua. As well, Richard Aste from Brooklyn Museum made a presentation on the current exhibition which he curated, Impressionism and the Caribbean: Francisco Oller and His Transatlantic World - being that we would not be visiting there on El Gran Tour, but this show is important/relevant nonetheless.

We participants had a choice, either to go on the Uptown and Bronx tour (featuring Taller Boricua, Longwood Gallery at Hostos and Wallworks Gallery) or on the Downtown and Brooklyn tour (featuring Loisaida Center, Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center and BRIC House). Being a native New Yorker myself, I thought it was a great opportunity to be like a tourist in my own city, to see some familiar things through new eyes, so to speak. I chose to go on the Uptown/Bronx tour (because quite frankly, I was already familiar with the downtown venues). As a special treat, some of us got to ride in a trolley (I thought it was pretty cute)! What was especially nice was that Gladys Peña-Acosta (who curated the show we were going to see at Hostos) stood at the helm of the trolley and used the microphone to give us even more background information. (I am a nerd, so this was like icing in the cake for me.)

Our first stop was at Taller Boricua in East Harlem where we met with Luis R Cancel, curator of their current photo exhibit, Paulo Fabre — Pé Direito. Then one of their resident artists, Marcos Dimas, showed us around his studio. Next, another resident artist, Nitza Tufiño, welcomed us in to her painting studio. She took the time to explain two of the large-scale pieces that she was in the process of working on - both of which I thought were lovely, her style really spoke to me. One was an endearing portrait of her mother and father the other, an image taken from a photo of Francisco Olller with his Parisian contemporaries, including Cezanne, called "The Conversation." After that we all ran across the road to the Raphael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop where artists demonstrated how they actually make linoleum-cut prints.

We boarded into our trolley again and headed up to the Bronx where we met with John MacElwee at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College. Gladys Peña-Acosta gave us a heartfelt tour of the retrospective she curated there: HOMENAJE: Jorge Soto Sánchez. I was impressed by this vast array of work - from painting to prints and mixed media, which was pieced together by borrowing works from friends and family, which have not been displayed since his death in 1987. The centerpiece of the show is "El Velorio" which Soto made after Oller's classic painting of the same name. (Somehow Oller keeps popping up all over the place!) Considering that Soto was creating this art in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it would seem to me that he was one of the creators of neo-expressionism, however, unsung. After that, MacElwee showed us around the lobby where artist Antonio Martorell has done a colorful mixed-media installation. This was a treat for me to see, because I had the pleasure of meeting Martorell last summer in his studio in Puerto Rico, and seeing a great array of his work there.

After viewing all of that amazing art, we all seemed to be running out of steam. But the tour organizers were one step ahead of us - they provided boxed lunches on the trolley! (At this point I could not believe how well-organized this whole thing was, and oh - did I mention it was totally free?!) So we were off to our next location: WallWorks Gallery where we first viewed some murals outside, before going in to see their current show, Three the Hard Way: Joe Conzo, Joe Russo and Leanna Valente, featuring black and white photos from the heyday of hip-hop.

At this point it was getting late and even the trolley driver had gone home. Not to worry, we boarded on to the other bus that was waiting outside of WallWorks to bring us the the after-party at BRIC House in Brooklyn. Once there, we were very lucky to find the artist who's work is currently being featured there, Juan Sánchez, who along with curator Elizabeth Ferrer, introduced us to the show, ¿What’s The Meaning of This? I must say that I was blown away. I was not previously familiar with Sánchez's work, but I became an immediate fan. I even asked him to sign my exhibition catalog. (Did I mention that I am a nerd?) There were about 30 incredible multi-media paintings on display and a couple of video pieces, one of which I was completely hypnotized by, "Unknown Boriqua, a Nuyorican State of Mind."

After that, we all got to nibble on snacks, drink a little wine and mingle in the gallery at BRIC. El Gran Tour, indeed! Moral of the story: read those random email invitations - you never know where they may lead you.
(For more art photos, goto my Instagram: @whippedhoney.)


Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez receiving a painting from artist Luis Cordero at the Metropolitan Museum before El Gran Tour. 

At Taller Boricua.

Artist, Marcos Dimas at Taller Boricua.

Artist, Marcos Dimas at Taller Boricua.


Artist, Marcos Dimas at Taller Boricua


Artist, Marcos Dimas at Taller Boricua.


Artist, Marcos Dimas at Taller Boricua.

Artist, Nitza Tufiño at Taller Boricua


Artist, Nitza Tufiño at Taller Boricua

Raphael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop.


Raphael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop.



Raphael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop.

Raphael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop.



Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


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Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.

Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


Gladys Peña-Acosta showing HOMENAJE: Jorge Soto Sánchez  at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.



Jorge Soto Sánchez at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.

 Antonio Martorell installation at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


 John MacElwee showing us the Antonio Martorell installation at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


 Antonio Martorell installation at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos College.


The trolley we were traveling in on the Uptown/Bronx tour.


Tats Cru mural outside of WallWorks Gallery.


Mural outside of WallWorks Gallery.


Mural outside of WallWorks Gallery.


Three the Hard Way exhibit at WallWorks Gallery.


Artist Jose Sánchez and curator Elizabeth Ferrer at BRIC.


Artwork by Jose Sánchez at BRIC.


Artwork by Jose Sánchez at BRIC.


Artwork by Jose Sánchez at BRIC.









Thursday, October 22, 2015

Art in the City of Dreams

Reynaldo Castro's living artwork interacting with paintings by Antonio Oliveira at ArtNight. Photo by Maria Moreno.


A few weeks ago, my good friend Maria Moreno, who happens to be a great photographer , asked me if I would like to have my art included in an event called ArtNight. As it turns out, ArtNight is an annual event that's been put on by the Marriott hotel brand SpringHill Suites at their various locations throughout the US and Canada since 2010. The purpose of ArtNight is to give exposure to local artists and engage hotel guests, giving them a glimpse into the city's art scene - while "demonstrating the brand's dedication to design and style" (their words, not mine). This ArtNight, entitled, "Art in the City of Dreams," would take place on Tuesday, October 13th at their Midtown Manhattan location. The invited artists, besides Maria and myself were  Antonio Oliveira, Lorenzo Sanjuan and Reynaldo Castro (as well as musical performers Joselyn Salomon, and Elizabeth Soychak & the Pleasure). As for my part, I figured (based on the theme, Art in the City of Dreams) that I could show paintings that had a dreamlike quality, of which I have a few - I picked three older pieces, along with a new one that I had already begun making for my Puerto Rico series. 

It was a gorgeous fall evening for our ArtNight. Being an event organizer myself, it felt strange and wonderful to just show up and not have to do any work (thank you Gina!). To my surprise when I walked in, the band was playing live harp and violin (classy!). The artwork was displayed really well, transforming the hotel lobby into an interesting art space. The paintings by Antonio Oliveira, Lorenzo Sanjuan and Reynaldo Castro looked great alongside Maria's narrative photo story, and my paintings too. The surprise of the evening was when Reynaldo came out to complete his painting on a naked lady! Once his work was done, she (a living piece of art) moved around the room interacting with the people and the artwork for the remainder of the night. Being that the room was full of friends and friends-of-friends, and fueled by wine, we all had a great time. The band played on, eventually adding singers and an acoustic guitar, while we mixed, mingled and laughed. I hope that the hotel guests enjoyed it as much as we did!


Group shot of the artists and musicians at ArtNight. Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.


Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.
Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.
My paintings: (top left) Sonando en Flamboyan Puertorriqueno, (bottom left) Sueno, (top right) Portrait of Frida Kahlo (bottom right) Flamenco. Photo by Maria Moreno.




Saturday, October 17, 2015

Community Arts and Cultural Equity in Queens

Group shot at QCA after Cultural Equity discussion.


Being an artist and a resident of Queens, NY for the last eight years or so, I was lucky to come across the Queens Council on the Arts. A few years back, they moved their headquarters to a nice bright space in Astoria. QCA offers lots of great things for artists and arts professionals; such as grant-writing workshops, art labs and other resources and events (I've attended a few of them, like grant-writing and fiscal sponsorship workshops). Recently I received an invitation to attend a panel discussion posing the question, “How Can We Change the Future of Arts and Communities Through Cultural Equity?” This seemed like it would be right up my alley, so I registered for the event on Tuesday, September 29th

The panel was lead by Janice Bond, Cultural Curator and Arts Advocate in Chicago and Jason Tseng, Community Specialist for Fractured Atlas in NYC. I was impressed with how they dove straight in to some hard-to-discuss topics like white privilege, colonial mindsets and language equality – and I thought they did a great job of unpacking it all along with the audience (many of whom participated in the “fish bowl” inclusive discussion). After identifying some of these complicated systems and hurdles that people (in this case, artists) come up against, the room seemed really ripe for more. We wanted to dig deeper and some people were piping up to ask for specific solutions, but our two hours were almost up. So the moderator, Zahida Pirani jumped in and posed an important proposition. She said that she has been thinking about forming an artist leadership network specifically for Queens; and she asked if anyone in the room would be interested in joining the steering committee. I raised my hand, along with a handful of other people in the room and she quickly jotted down our names.

In the end, I don't think it would have even been possible to answer such a big question in one sitting (“How Can We Change the Future of Arts and Communities Through Cultural Equity?"). But I do think that we came away with something huge; a step towards building a network and towards developing more culturally equitable opportunities for artists in Queens and beyond. Since the discussion, a group of us have been communicating and will soon be having or first Queens Artist Steering Committee meeting. I am looking forward to it!









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