About the Poet
Yarisa Colón Torres is a Puerto Rican poet, educator and creator of handmade books based in Queens, New York. She enjoys collaborating with artists in the development of multidisciplinary projects centered on the written word. Among her most recent artisanal poetry books are: Enredadera y colmillo (2019) and Viento Abajo (2022).
Poet’s statement: In this exhibition we are showcasing Viento Abajo, both the unique handmade poetry book made in collaboration with artists Sofía Del Mar Collins and Yolanda Velázquez, as well as a copy of the limited edition of Viento Abajo co-created with artist Miguel Ángel Rivera Reyes, Sofía and Yolanda. Also, a selection of poems from this book is on display as an invitation to approach them from a different angle…This is an opportunity to honor all the effort, held by the threads of friendship and love, that has made possible the completion of this artisanal and literary project.
Installation Sneak Peek
About the Collaborators
Yolanda Velázquez is a transdisciplinary artist. Her artworks are part of public and private collections such as Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, Museo de Arte, Antropología e Historia de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Museo de la Universidad de Alicante, la Casa de las Américas en la Habana, Cuba, and the Stanford University among others. The artist develops her works at her personal studio Taller Sirena de Palo and her project Taller La Ciénaga, a collaborative space in her community within a school structure that was rescued from abandonment by neighbors from her community in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Sofía del Mar Collins (b.1995, San Juan, PR) interweaves projects across painting, drawing, textile, installation, video, and performance. Her practice explores archetypal languages through varied surfaces that range from paper, textile, and plastic as well as spatial relations between the natural and the industrial. Sofía graduated with the Geraldine Putnam Prize for Visual Arts (2017) from Sarah Lawrence College, where she concentrated BA studies in Sociology and Visual Arts. She completed her MFA in Studio Art at Hunter College, NYC (2021). Sofia currently lives and nurtures a studio practice from San Juan.
Miguel Ángel Rivera is a multidisciplinary artist from Puerto Rico, where he earned a BFA from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas. His artwork has been exhibited at different galleries and international fairs such as ARCO at Madrid, Spain; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico; V Certamen Nacional de Artes Plásticas at Sacred Heart University, Puerto Rico; IV Bienal de Arte Joven at Chase Manhattan Bank; Segunda Bienal at Casa Roig; Alfonso Arana Foundation and the Museum of Art and History of San Juan. He currently resides in New York City, where he has exhibited at El Taller Latino Americano and El Barrio's Artspace PS109.
Showcase Tours and Events
Gallery Tour- Friday, December 29th, 2023 2-3pm @ BLC
Handmade Book Workshop- Friday, December 29th, 2023 3-5pm @ BLC
Showcase Closing- Friday, January 26th, 2024 5-6pm @ BLC