Latino Artist Pepon Osorio's Visit Rescheduled

March 18, 2010

Acclaimed Latino artist Pepón Osorio's visit to Stonehill has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 24 - Thursday, March 25 after a major snow storm in February postponed his original stay.  

Osorio will give a public address in the Martin Institute on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and on Thursday, will meet with studio art majors as well as students in the Learning Community "Art and Civic Culture in Urban Neighborhoods."

Taught by Professor and Chair of Visual and Performing Arts Carole Calo and Assistant Professor of History Beth Belanger, the LC is collaborating with Brockton Cape Verdean teens on a community-based art project.

"As the Visual and Performing Arts department marks its tenth anniversary, to have an artist of Osorio's caliber join us is a great honor. His presence is testament to how far the department has progressed and it will also inspire our students, especially those who will have the opportunity to work with him," said Calo.

Known for his large installations and community-based public art projects, Osorio's work is informed by his boyhood in Puerto Rico and his experiences as a social worker in the Bronx. Returning art to the community is one of his top priorities as an artist.

Throughout his career, he has worked in neighborhoods in Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Philadelphia, and New York, among others. Osorio transforms ordinary objects into stories of people's lives.

In "No Tears in the Barber Shop," (pictured left) a barbershop chair festooned with Puerto Rican flags captures childhood memories and concepts of masculinity in Puerto Rican society.

A casita in front of the Latino Congresso in Philadelphia is comprised of family photographs collected from members of the Latino community.

For his "Home Visits" series, Osorio custom designs miniature houses to reflect the lives of various people, and then brings the artwork into private homes.

His work has been shown at museums ranging from the Smithsonian to the Whitney Museum to El Museo del Barrio. A recipient of the Cal Arts/Alpert Award for Visual Arts and the International Association of Art Critics Award, among others, Osorio teaches at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Currently a Visiting Artist at Williams College, he has received fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, in 1955, Osorio attended the Universidad Inter-America in Puerto Rico, followed by Lehman College in New York, from which he received his bachelor's degree. In 1985 he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University. He currently resides in Philadelphia.

To learn more about Osorio and his art, visit here.

Contact

For more information, contact Communications and Media Relations at 508-565-1321.