Art ~ SORTA-RICAN:

Daniel Bejar, Charles Beronio, 
Leenda Bonilla & Melissa A. Calderon
Curated by Marcos Dimas and Christine Licata 

Opening: Friday, April 8th @ 6-9pm
Exhibition Runs to May 21st
TALLER BORICUA 
@ the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center
1680 Lexington Avenue
(between 105th and 106th Streets)

Taller Boricua is proud to present "Sorta-Rican" a group exhibition featuring artists Daniel Bejar, Charles Beronio, Leenda Bonilla and Melissa A. Calderon. The work in this exhibition examines these New York City artists' experiences in the wake of 20th Century Puerto Rican migration. Influenced by colonial trajectories that began over five centuries ago, issues of language, economics, social structures and identity reverberate through "Sorta-Rican."

The term Sorta-Rican, a hyphenated mix of the slang term "sorta" and Puerto Rican, describes the experience of a person of Puerto Rican descent usually born and raised in the United States with Nuyorican and/or Boricua parents. As second (or first, depending on one's interpretation) and third generation members of the Puerto Rican diaspora, they commonly reside somewhere between at least two cultures, absorbing each one though not fully assimilating either.  Occupying this obscure acculturated space, Sorta-Ricans exist as both members and outsiders, included and excluded--all the while reinterpreting and redefining the culture.   

Employing mixed media and site-specific interventions, Daniel Bejar's practice connects the past to the present, reexamining historical and geo-political narratives. Charles Beronio's allegorical drawings critique the relationship between ideology and socio-political realities through conceptual examinations of language and visual culture. Incorporating multimedia and site-specific installation, Leenda Bonilla explores the concepts of cultural memory and the dualities inherent in transculturation. Melissa A. Calderon explores the gaps of disconnection within gender and culturally based traditional roles through mixed media, video and performance. For additional information about any of the artists, please contact Taller Boricua:contact@tallerboricua.org.