Working with a wide range of salvaged materials, Yonkers-based, self-taught multidisciplinary artist Michael Cuomo continues to fashion an extraordinary array of assemblages. Among these are his intriguing “Heads of State.” Several from this ongoing series recently made their way to Columbus Park in Yonkers. Featured above is “Hoast,” one of Michael’s pandemic works created this past year. A few more images captured during this impromptu, public pop-up exhibition follow:

Michael Cuomo installs “India,” — originally created in 2018

“Desert Shaman,” 2020

“Faceless,” 2020 — from the pandemic works

“Razzel”, 2017

Photos by Lois Stavsky

Five Queens-based artists have recently shared their visions and talents on the streets of Long Island City. The fiberglass spheres — manufactured by LIC-based Fabricator Sculpture House NYC — that they designed and painted can now be found in tree pits throughout the neighborhood. The image featured above was painted by ART BreakOUT co-founder and Jackson Heights resident Bonnie Astor. Several more images of artworks created for this project and installed in Long Island City follow:

Bonnie Astor with another one of her painted spheres from her series, “All Eyes On LIC”

Ohio-born, Queens-based Elinore Schnurr, from her series, “WE ARE ONE “

Wisconsin-born, Queens-based Karen Fitzgerald from her series, “The Four Elemental Forces“

Bangladeshi-American artist Kaiser Kamal, from his series, “Unity in Diversity” 

Included, too, in this project is Kerri Boccard, whose spheres — yet to be viewed — will be featured on our Instagram page. The five participating artists were selected through an open call from Culture Lab LIC., and the project was made possible through Long Island City Partnership in coordination with Eventscape.

Photos: Lois Stavsky

For over 50 years members of the Guerrero, Mexico-based La Familia Lorenzo have been painting delightfully enchanting images reflecting their remote village’s culture and traditions.

The recently deceased family patriarch Lucas Lorenzo who originated this tradition began painting 55 years ago on Masonite board — instead of the traditional amate bark, the canvas of his fellow villagers. It was a technique he had discovered on a trip to Mexico City while seeking work as a farmer.

His four sons: Aureliano, Jesus, Nicolas, and Santiago, along with his daughters Carlota and Lizbeth and grandson Fernando, have continued the tradition, while improvising with its aesthetic. “It is how we conserve our culture,” explains Fernando.

The image featured above was painted by second generation Lorenzo family member Jesus. Several more images of paintings by members of the Lorenzo family, featured in Hecho en México at the temporarily closed Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, follow:

Also by second generation Lorenzo family member Jesus Lorenzo

Second generation Lorenzo family member Nicolas Lorenzo

Second generation Lorenzo family member Aureliano Lorenzo

Second generation Lorenzo family member Lizbeth Lorenzo

Third generation Lorenzo family member Fernando Lorenzo

Photographs of paintings by Lois Stavsky captured while visiting Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens this past fall

The image pictured above, Respect the Order, was fashioned by the Jamaican American artist Mark Anthony Hill with acrylic on canvas. It remains on view in his solo exhibition at One Art Space in Tribeca until January 6 . Following are several more faces in a variety of styles and media seen this past year in a range of settings:

Havana, Cuba-based self-taught artist Hector Frank Heredia, “Untitled,” Mixed media — as seen last March at Art on Paper in Lower Manhattan

Self-taught multidisciplinary artist John Tursi — as seen at the Living Museum in Queens Village

Largely self-taught Japanese artist Akito Nara, “Soul Meeting,” Acrylic and oil pastel on canvas — as seen last March in his solo exhibition at Ethan Cohen Gallery in Chelsea, NYC

Brooklyn-based self-taught artist Marcus Jahmal, “Mirror 4,” Watercolor on paper — as seen in “100 Drawings from Now” at the (now temporarily closed) Drawing Center in Soho, NYC

Self-taught Oregon-based artist Anne Marie Grgich, “Target,” Mixed media — as seen last January at the Outsider Art Fair in Chelsea, NYC

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

Born in the Dominican Republic and based in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, self-taught artist Bony Ramirez fashions entrancing, dramatic works that celebrate his rich Caribbean culture and reflect on his native country’s traumatic history.

On view through Sunday at Thierry Goldberg Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side is MUSA X PARADISIACA, Bony Ramirez’s first in-person solo exhibition with the gallery.

The bold, mesmerizing image featured above — Es Colmado, No Bodega — typifies that artist’s distinct aesthetic of fusing paintings and drawings by adhering life-size paper figures onto painted wood panels. And, as in all of of his works, the character’s limbs are distorted.

Several more images from this riveting exhibition follow:

“El Tiguerazo!,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, oil stick, paper on wood panel

“Carnaval,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, paper on wood panel

“Caribaby: The Sea Shells,” 2020, Apoxie clay, tin foil, Styrofoam, resin doll eyes, aluminum armature, velvet fabric, polyester fiberfill, synthetic hair, polymer clay, acrylic, oil pastel, sea shells

Segment of installation on the gallery’s lower level — (L to R) “Dónde Están Los Limóncillos?,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil stick, oil pastel, paper on wood panel; “The Columbus Lighthouse,” 2020, Apoxie clay, tin foil, Syrofoam, resin doll eyes, aluminum armature, crushed velvet fabric, polyester fiberfill, synthetic hair, acrylic, oil pastel; metal sword, zinc tow chain, acrylic, on wood panel and “No Fue El Final/ It Was Not The End,” 2020
acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, wallpaper, paper on wood panel

“Musa X Paradisiaca,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, wallpaper, paper on wood panel

Located at 109 Norfolk Street, Thierry Goldberg Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10-6pm. Walk-ins are welcome.

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

Born to Salvadorian immigrants in Newark, New Jersey, John Rivas creates distinctly authentic artwork, reflecting his dual identity.

Working with a range of media, from sundry objects found in his home to traditional art school materials, Rivas has developed an expressive, raw aesthetic that provides the viewer with insight into not only the artist’s life, but, also, into the Latinix immigrant experience.

Often inspired by family photos and stories, his mixed media paintings – with their captivating detailed references — are an ode to his family and to his heritage. His current exhibition, Las Voces Inside of Me, at Latchkey Gallery, takes the viewer on a journey into the artist’s world, as he — now an MFA candidate at Columbia University — navigates disparate cultures and realities.

The image pictured above, La Sopa es Para La Goma, fashioned with mixed media on canvas, depicts his family sitting around the kitchen table — their elongated hands and feet suggesting a personal history of farmers, laborers and construction workers. Several more images from the exhibit follow:

“Para Siempre,” Mixed media on canvas

“La Ruta 21,” Mixed media on canvas

“Jesus,” Mixed media on material

Installation featuring a hammock and griddle with tortillas set on pebbled ground, reminiscent of his family’s life in El Salvador

The exhibition remains open through this week at Latchkey, a nomadic contemporary art gallery, currently housed at 323 Canal Street. You can schedule your visit here.

Special thanks to City-as-School student Jasper Shepard for contributing his photography skills, research and insights to this post.

Born in Nicaragua and based in Miami, self-taught artist Farley Aguilar fashions figurative paintings based on found photographs that engage him. At once profoundly disturbing and strikingly alluring, Aguilar’s paintings question and challenge our roles and society’s norms.

On view through Sunday, December 13, at Lyles & King, a handsome gallery space in Manhattan’s Chinatown, are four new paintings that focus on trauma’s impact on the body. Marked by the artist’s signature X’s, expressive scrawls and swirls, the artworks exude an ominous, sinister otherworldly aura. Perfectly reflecting the anxiety of our times, the dubious nature of the crowd and our detachment from one another, these four paintings are distinctly haunting and relevant.

Featured above is “Accused Woman,” fashioned in 2020 with oil, oil stick and graphite on linen. The other three paintings on exhibit follow:

“Unknown Woman.” 2020, Oil, oil stick and graphite on linen

“Shorn Woman,” 2020, Oil, oil stick and graphite on linen

“Crippled Children,” 2020, Oil and pencil on linen

Located at 21 Catherine Street, Lyles & King is open Tuesday – Saturday: 11am – 6pm and Sunday: 12 – 6pm.

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

The late self-taught artist Purvis Young began creating art in his largely African-American Miami neighborhood of Overtown in the 1960’s. Working with discarded materials he found on the streets and in abandoned buildings, he forged a riveting, seductive array of mixed-media works reflecting his particular sensibility and his community’s circumstances.

Currently on view at James Fuentes Gallery on the Lower East Side is a selection of artworks — fusing the spiritual and political, while suggesting yearning, struggle, prayer and acceptance.

In the untitled mixed-media work featured above the floating eyes likely represent the artist’s — and perhaps the world’s — guardians. Several more images on exhibit at James Fuentes Gallery follow:

Untitled, 1974, Oil on wood

Untitled, 1973, Paint on wood

Untitled, 1989, House paint on plywood

Untitled, 1992, Acrylic and house paint on wood

Untitled, 1974, Paint on wood

The exhibition continues at James Fuentes Gallery, 55 Delancey Street , through December 6. It is open Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–6pm.

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

Born in Paraguay in 1962, the poetically distinct visual artist Feliciano Centurión settled in Argentina, where he became a key figure in Buenos Aires cultural circles in the early 1990’s. Identified with both folk art and queer aesthetics, he left a significant body of wondrous art at the time of his death from AIDS-related complications in 1996. On view at the Americas Society through this Friday is the first solo exhibition of his work — as it continues to garner admiration and attention — outside of Latin America.

The image featured above, Florece (Flourishes), was fashioned with embroidery and thread on natural and synthetic fibers. It is one of many of Feliciano Centurión‘s artworks generally associated with women’s aesthetics. Several more images — all created between 1990 and 1995 — on view at the Americas Society follow:

Tigres (Tigers), Acrylic on blanket

Lagartijas (Lizards), Acrylic on blanket — one of the many images of subtropical animals painted onto blankets

Surubí, 1972, Acrylic and enamel on blanket

Estrella del Mar (Seastar), Embroidery on blanket and acrylic paint

Medusas (Jellyfish), Acrylic and crochet on blanket (L.); Pulpo Violeta (Purple Octopus), Acrylic on blanket and a selection of plastic toys with crochet

And on a somber note fashioned one year before the artist’s death:

Soy Alma en Pena (I Am a Soul in Pain), Embroidery on fabric

Curated by Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, the exhibition continues at the Visual Arts Gallery of the Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue, through this week. You can book a time slot here for a visit Wednesday through Friday, 12 to 6 pm.

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky