BRONX NOW Group Exhibition

Bronx Now at
Bronx River Art Center
1087 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10460, (718) 589-5819

Exhibition on view: July 14th – September 8th

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 14th from 6-9PM
Artist Talk: Thursday, August 16 from 6-8PM

Gallery Hours: W-F: 3-6 Sat 12-5

Curated by Laura James & Eileen Walsh, BXNYCreative

Participating Artists: John Ahearn, Benton C Bainbridge, Roy Baizan, Michael Paul Britto, Julius “Tkid 170” Cavero, CES, Ivan Gaete, Samantha Holmes, Heidi L. Johnson, MRS, Devon Rodriguez, Shellyne Rodriguez, Moses Ros-Suárez, Edgar Santana, Rhynna M. Santos, and Natalie Collette Wood

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact
Ron Kavanaugh
rkavanaugh@bronxriverart.org
917-539-6965

EXHIBITION FEATURES BIENNIAL SURVEY OF TOP BRONX-BASED ARTISTS

July 1, 2018 – Bronx Now, Opening Reception, Saturday July 14, 6-9PM, on view through September 8, 2018 at the newly re-opened Bronx River Art Center. This exhibition looks at a cross section of artwork being made in the Bronx today. It is comprised of 16 artists working in mediums of sculpture, work on paper, photography, painting, digital art, graffiti art, textiles and living art.

The overarching narrative of the exhibition is the interplay of work from myriad origins together outlining the tenacious, unflinching, intrinsically motivated personality that the Bronx has come to be known for. On the precipice of the Bronx’s shifting demographics, Bronx Now creates an expositional bridge between community and artist. Featured artists explore the visual agency amongst art, community, and social justice.

Organized by independent curators Laura James and Eileen Walsh, who work under the name BXNYCreative, Bronx Now marks another milestone in their effort to expand interest in Bronx-based artists. “Since we first presented Bronx Now in 2016, it has been interesting to see the arts community grow and change, but there’s always that common thread: the outspoken, true, and brash Bronx voice remains unchanged,” Eileen Walsh Co-Curator.

Each artist also has a digital portfolio on BX200: Bronx Visual Artist Directory, www.BX200.com, an online artist community –operated by the curators– launched in December 2014. The website, which was the first to build a directory of Bronx artists, uses the virtual world as a tool to bring the artwork of 200 Bronx-based artists to the public and give artists some control over their public interactions.

“After starting BX200 four years we’ve come to know many of the borough’s artists, professionally and personally. We are lucky to have so many to choose from when curating a show like this, from masters like John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres, to recent Lehman College MFA grad “MRS”, this show displays diversity on many levels, and we hope that you’ll head to West Farms and Bronx River Art Center to check it out,” says co-curator Laura James.

Participating Artists: John Ahearn, Benton C Bainbridge, Roy Baizan, Michael Paul Britto, Julius “Tkid 170” Cavero, CES, Ivan Gaete, Samantha Holmes, Heidi L. Johnson, MRS, Devon Rodriguez, Shellyne Rodriguez, Moses Ros-Suárez, Edgar Santana, Rhynna M. Santos, Rigoberto Torres and Natalie Collette Wood

Opening Reception: Friday, July 14, 6-9pm

Public Programs:
Artist Talk – Thursday, August 16 from 6-8PM

Contact: Ron Kavanaugh
rkavanaugh@bronxriverart.org, 917-539-6965

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PARTICIPATING ARTIST’S BRIEF BIOS

John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres
Wall-mounted sculptures
Since meeting at South Bronx art space Fashion Moda in the late 70’s, Torres and Ahearn have
collaborated and worked solo to produce many outstanding works that primarily celebrate everyday people and communities. The duo have exhibited extensively, completed residencies and projects nationally and internationally, and their work is currently on view in “Like Life” at the Met Breuer.

Benton C Bainbridge
Multiple-technology based artwork
Benton is a media artist who designs custom video systems to create visual performances, interactive installations and other time-based artworks. His work is currently on exhibit at L’Auditori de Barcelona.

Roy Baizan
Photographer/ Documentarian
Roy Baizan works in the medium of black and white film and digital photography. He has been photographing his community and family since immigrating to the U.S. Roy was recently featured in the NY Times Lens blog with a photo essay on the Bronx’s Hydro Punk Collective –a counterculture movement of which he is a member. Roy is also a teaching artist at the Point Community Development Corp., the International Center for Photography, and the Bronx Documentary Center.

Michael Paul Britto
Conceptual artwork
Michael Paul Britto is a well-known conceptual artist whose work examines issues of race and culture. Michael has participated in several residency programs including The New Museum, Smack Mellon, The Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

CES
Graffiti Artist
CES is an originator of contemporary graffiti’s streamlined and aerodynamic alphabetic reconfiguration known as “Wildstyle.” His innovations have influenced an entire generation of graffiti writers in the United States and abroad. Besides New York, he has exhibited in Athens, Boston, Basel, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Berlin.

Julius “Terrible Tkid170” Cavero
Graffiti Artist
Tkid is a Bronx graffiti legend well known for his classic style. He has tirelessly continued to stay true to the original Bronx style that collectors have acquired since he started working on canvas. He shows regularly in the US and Europe, and is currently on exhibit at Street Dream Gallery in Paris, France.

Ivan Gaete
Conceptual artwork
Gaete is a recipient of a 2016 BRIO award, and a 2016 Create Change Fellow at the Laundromat Project. He participated in the AIM program at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and has had residencies at Artists Alliance / LES Studio Program, The Wassaic Project Artist, Expressiones Cultural Center (New London, CT) and Ace Hotel (NYC).

Samantha Holmes
Wall-mounted sculptures
Samantha Holmes is a prolific artist with multiple public artworks worldwide. She is currently artist-in-residence at Vermont Studios; and her public art installation is on view in BRAC’s River Rising exhibition.

Heidi L. Johnson
Painting
Heidi L. Johnson is a contemporary painter whose work is representative of the complications of an information-based society. She reflects on Dutch landscapes using popular imagery, animals, nature, and ideas of dystopian futures. Heidi’s work is shown and collected internationally; and she recently completed a residency in Stockholm, Sweden.

MRS
Textiles
MRS is a young graffiti artist who is currently extending the medium by deconstructing graphic works on paper and fabric to create new work in traditional styles. He is currently an MFA candidate at Lehman College.

Devon Rodriguez
Portrait Painter
At 22, Devon has developed into a skilled portrait painter. He is currently working with Uniqlo on their Bronx-centered media campaign, and he was recently featured in the New York Times and The New Yorker. Devon has completed multiple commissioned works, including a portrait of his mentor John Ahearn that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

Shellyne Rodriguez
Conceptual artwork
In addition to her sculptural works, paintings, and installation art, Shellyne also creates around her social practice. She has participated in numerous public actions around the New York addressing gentrification and inequality and helped draft the People’s Cultural Plan Shellyne was recently commissioned to build a public sculpture on the Grand Concourse.

Moses Ros-Suárez
Mobiles
Moses Ros-Suárez is a longtime printmaker and public artist whose work is archived at the Smithsonian Museum. Moses is also the Director of the Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA. His work is currently on view in BRAC’s River Rising exhibition and the Bronx Museum of Art.

Edgar Santana
Photography
Edgar Santana is a Bronx-based street photographer whose work celebrates the often-overlooked beauty that is intrinsic to Bronx culture. With camera in hand, his job as a social worker allows him to crisscross the borough on a daily basis. Edgar has a particular fondness for photographing cars, and originated the Instagram hashtag #carsofthebronx. Edgar is also a curator of the Instagram account Everyday Bronx, which has over 31,000 followers.

Rhynna Santos
Photographer/ Documentarian
Rhynna Santos serves as an integral part of photography teaching programs at the Bronx Documentary Center. She is the founder of the Bronx Women’s Photo Collective, which was featured in a special En Foco exhibition and issue of Nueva Luz in 2017. Rhynna has recently contributed several photo essays to the New York Times, and is the recipient of a 2018 En Foco Fellowship.

Natalie Colette Wood
Living sculpture
Natalie C. Wood is a longtime artist-in-residence at The Andrew Freedman Home, and Director of Art and Programs at The Bronx Children’s Museum. Her current living sculpture work is installed at Montefiore Hospital, Chashama Midtown Gallery, and the Andrew Freedman Home.

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