Psycho-tropics: Belonging Elsewhere
March 15 - April 27, 2024
Opening Reception: March 15, 6-8 PM
Artists
Natalia Almonte
Yazmany Arboleda
Edward Cabral
Ojos Caribe
Jill Cohen-Nuñez
Patricia Encarnación
Nicole Mouriño
Christopher Paz-Rivera
Estefania Velez Rodriguez
Curator: Sofía Shaula Reeser del Rio
Psycho-tropics: Belonging Elsewhere is a collective inquiry into transformation and resilience. The featured artists in this show engage in explorations of cultural liminality and question the relationship between individuals and their environment. While considering the melding of city and landscape, the show unfolds as an inquiry of the diasporic psyche, delving into societal norms, cultural dynamics, environmental factors, historical legacies, and diverse migrant narratives. Each artist spotlights liminal space–honoring rituals, migration, community, and belonging, and reflects on the interconnectedness of self and community. As a reminder of our shared humanity, the exhibition invites viewers to identify refuge, construct alternative archives, and highlight a collective disbelief of progress.
Delving into the influences of de-colonial practices and nature, the artists reconstruct and challenge prevailing notions of American-ness. By carving out spaces of refuge and constructing alternative realities to a contemporary anxious-driven society, the exhibition becomes a celebration of collective hope in the face of false progress. The exhibition then becomes a poignant reminder of our shared humanity and the power of personal histories in decentralizing monolithic narratives. A communal table welcomes engagement and fosters contribution to a zine-like catalog that aims to cultivate narratives and embrace alternative perspectives.
Public Programs:
Opening Reception
Friday, March 15, 6-8 PM
In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public.
RSVP Recommended but not required.
Hand-Building with Air Dry Clay Workshop with Jill Cohen Nuñez
Saturday, March 23, 2-4 PM
Learn the basics of how to coil-build a pot. Ages 12+
In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public.
RSVP Recommended but not required.
DibujArte/Draw Art
Saturday, March 30, 12-2 PM
Join artist Nicole Mouriño for a family-friendly drawing workshop using the artworks in the exhibition as inspiration. Ages 5+ with their caregivers, participants learn to work with charcoal on newsprint and canvas while interpreting sculptural works by Edward Cabral, Jill Cohen Nuñez, and Patricia Encarnacion. Attendees can choose to participate or contribute to the exhibition’s living catalog. Limited materials provided and BYO supplies recommended.
In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public.
RSVP Recommended but not required.
JURUTUNGO: Concrete Poetry Workshop led by Natalia Almonte
Saturday, April 6, 3-5:30 PM
This workshop will explore the concept of Concrete Poetry, historically defined as an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. There are no rules, just interpretations. The intention is to free ourselves of what we should do, of what is expected, of what the finished product could be, and let ourselves embrace the unknown in order to discover something about ourselves that we did not know yesterday. Please bring your materials of choice.
Suggestions: writing and drawing utensils, paper or other surfaces, iPad/Tablet.
In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public.
RSVP Recommended but not required.
Catalog Launch with Ojos Caribe Screening & Cake by Edward Cabral
Thursday, April 11, 6-9 PM
Join us for the catalog launch, screening with Ojos Caribe, and a special cake decorated by Edward Cabral.
In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public.
RSVP Recommended but not required.
Materials Workshop with Estefania Velez Rodriguez
Saturday, April 13, 12:30-2 PM
This workshop facilitated by Estefania Velez Rodriguez explores different ways of using organic materials to make pigments.
In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public.
RSVP Recommended but not required.
Death Cafe Ceremony with Jill Cohen-Nuñez hosted by Anastasia Corrine and Nancy Huang
Saturday, April 13, 5-8 PM
Join us for an afternoon of Ceremony held by the Death Cafe with Jill Cohen-Nuñez, Hosted by Anastasia Corrine and Nancy Huang.
Where and how do we allow ourselves to grieve and mourn? Expressing grief is a survival mechanism; the way we mourn reflects the way we live. The Death Cafe, a BIPOC-centered event, is an opportunity for people to come together and share thoughts, fears, and dreams about mortality, and plan for the future. Death Cafe is an offering for a present and future committed to love and dignity for the living, the ill, and the dead. We aim to create intergenerational spaces dedicated to the safety and celebration of people of all abilities. We will gather to discuss death and dying in a nonjudgmental space, build a collective altar, and enjoy light refreshments.
In person at EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Free and open to the public.
RSVP Recommended but not required.
Patricia Encarnación, Tropical Limerence III: Martinique, 2023, Video, 2:30 minutes This film will be on view at the gallery March 15 - April 10.
Nicole Muriño, Cosa de tu Padre, 2022, Charcoal, polymers, and oil on canvas, 72 x 52 inches.
Jill Cohen-Nuñez, Untitled (guardian) 2, As part of the installation wait in the garden, 2023, raku stoneware, dimensions variable.
Installation Photography by Jason Mandella
Left to right:
Nicole Mouriño, Cosa de tu Padre, 2022, 72 x 52 inches, charcoal, polymers, and oil on canvas; Patricia Encarnación, Tropical Limerence, 2017-2023, series of 4 videos, Total Run Time: 13:38 minutes. This film series will be on view at the gallery March 15 - April 10; Jill Cohen-Nuñez, of: a guardian as part of the installation wait in the garden, 2020/2024, bronze, stone, dimensions variable; Jill Cohen-Nuñez, well as part of the installation wait in the garden, 2020/2024, Maple plywood, glass, dimensions variable; Jill Cohen-Nuñez, altar beam as part of the installation wait in the garden, 2023/2024, cedar wood, cherry wood, stone, dimensions variable; Jill Cohen-Nuñez, Untitled (guardian) 2 as part of the installation wait in the garden, 2023, raku stoneware, dimensions variable; Jill Cohen-Nuñez, untitled as part of the installation wait in the garden, 2024 , walnut, redwood, soapstone, stone, dimensions variable.
Image Description: To the left hangs a large painting on stretched canvas featuring abstract elements, various shapes, colors, and figures, including a human silhouette in the center. To its right in the far back, an image of two hands holding a conch shell is projected on the wall. On the floor, in front of the projected image, sits a rug with yellow round pillows on top. In the middle of the gallery space sits a large floor installation of several sculptures, including a wooden post that stands vertically, with carved faces and textures on it, surrounded on the ground by a collection of rocks placed on the floor around it.
Left to right:
Estefania Velez Rodriguez, Small Rocks Tagged Neutralized Red and green, 2022, liquid pigment dispersions, chalk, acrylic binder on canvas, 16 x 12 inches.
Estefania Velez Rodriguez, Small Rocks Tagged Light Pink, 2022 , liquid pigment dispersions, chalk, acrylic mediums on canvas, 16 x 12 inches.
Yazmany Arboleda, All The Spaces We Have Yet To Inhabit, 2023, acrylic on red oak wood, 48 x 48 inches.
Nicole Mouriño, Sera’s Botanica, 2019, charcoal on canvas, 71.5 x 137 inches.
Image Description: To the left hangs a pair of small abstract paintings with heavy textured patterns. To their right hangs a geometric abstract painting on a wood panel featuring overlapping colors. On the wall to the right hangs a large horizontal stretched canvas depicting a sequence of monochromatic shelves. In front of the paintings, there are three tables and a bench. Several books and images are placed on top of each table.
Left to right:
Edward Cabral, Ingress, 2024, bread, PVA glue, wood panel, epoxy resin, 72 x 24 x 2 inches.
Patricia Encarnación, El Negro Detrás de la Oreja (The Black Behind the Ear), 2021-23, series of 9 ceramic terracotta objects, dimensions variable.
To the left hangs a spiral pattern of dried leaves made of baked bread and mounted vertically on a triangular base. To the right, three shelves hang on the wall containing several ceramic terracotta objects of variable dimensions and different shapes, including bottles, conch shell, coffee maker, and comb with hair rollers.
Left to right:
Christopher Paz-Rivera, Junti circle (Hato Rey Landscape), 2024, colored pencil, acrylic on wood panel, wood shelf, L brackets, 25 x 34 x 2.5 inches.
Christopher Paz-Rivera, Junti police (Flatbush Landscape), 2024, colored pencil, acrylic on wood panel, wood shelf, L brackets, 36.5 x 28 x 2.5 inches.
Estefania Velez Rodriguez, Threshold - Umber, 2022-2023, oil paint on canvas, 43 x 36.5 inches.
To the left, two paintings on wooden panels are placed on top of wooden shelves. Both paintings are made with colored pencils. The first one depicts a dog in the center of the surface sitting on a patch of grass with a ring of white-haloed mushrooms. The next painting features a collage of different elements, including a broken glass bottle, wooden slats with text that read “POLICE”, and a dog on a backdrop of wavy, colorful lines. On the next wall, to the right, a larger earth-toned painting hangs on the wall depicting an open stone archway leading to a landscape with a road and a sunburst.
Natalia Almonte, Chronic Islandism, 2019/2024, video installation, monoprint, photo transfer, mixed media, dimensions variable.
A dark room with a projection that goes from texts to illustrations in white on the wall, a pile of blue tarp on the floor with a stick in the middle resembling a used mop, are paired with construction blue lights hanging and placed throughout the room with orange extension and power cords. There is another projection on a curtain and many electronic devices with screens and everyday objects dispersed throughout the room, all elements of a large floor installation.
Event Photography by EFA Project Space
