The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery Presents at Americas Society Works by Contemporary Latino American Artists

Portraiture Now: Staging the Self 
 On view at Americas Society June 10 through October 17, 2015
Press Preview and Reception: Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 4:00 p.m.

New York, June 9, 2015—The Smithsonian´s National Portrait Gallery presents at Americas Society in New York Portraiture Now: Staging the Self, an exhibition featuring six contemporary artists who explore how identities are constructed and negotiated through portraiture. Portraiture Now, on view from June 10 through October 17, 2015, will include 34 photographs, paintings and mixed media portraits by David Antonio Cruz, Carlee Fernandez, María Martínez-Cañas, Rachelle Mozman, Karen Miranda Rivadeneira, and Michael Vasquez.  A press preview will be held at Americas Society on 680 Park Avenue in New York City on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. RSVP: mediarelations@as-coa.org.

Through their works these artists address personal or family issues, telling stories that they remember or imagine from their past, manipulating images of themselves, or superimposing portraits of their loved ones on their own. Like actors searching for a character, they explore the boundaries of individuality. In the process, portraiture loses its aura of certainty and instead becomes an evolving map for finding oneself and others.

The exhibition team is led by Taína Caragol, curator of Latino art and history and includes Rebecca Kasemeyer, associate director of education; Dorothy Moss, associate curator of painting and sculpture; and David C. Ward, senior historian.

Portraiture Now: Staging the Self is organized by the National Portrait Gallery in collaboration with the Smithsonian Latino Center.

The exhibition has been made possible through the federal support of the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center; Univision Communications, Inc.; the Stoneridge Fund of Amy and Marc Meadows; and the Rebecca Houser Westcott Fund for “Portraiture Now.”

The presentation of the exhibition in New York City is made possible by the generous support of Jaime and Raquel Gilinski, Genomma Lab Internacional, and, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Image Credit:  Bear Hair Study by Carlee Fernandez (born 1973), C-Print, 2004. Courtesy of the artist and ACME., Los Angeles. © Carlee Fernandez

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

ON VIEW
June 10 – October 17, 2015
Gallery hours:
Wednesday to Saturday
12:00 m. - 6:00 p.m.
Americas Society
680 Park Avenue at 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
View map
Free admission

EXHIBITION TOUR
Thursday, June 11, 2015
6:30 p.m.
Artist David Antonio Cruz and Americas Society’s Assistant Curator Christina De León will lead a guided tour of the exhibition.
Americas Society
680 Park Avenue at 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
View map
Free for members
$10 for non-members

PRESS PREVIEW AND RECEPTION
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
4:00 p.m.
Curator Taína Caragol and Artists David Antonio Cruz, María Martínez-Cañas, Rachelle Mozman, and Michael Vasquez will host the media and will be available for interviews. A VIP opening and reception will follow.
Americas Society
680 Park Avenue at 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
View map                 

GENERAL OPENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Americas Society
680 Park Avenue at 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
View map
Free admission
This panel discussion will point out how the show’s contemporary artists invent or reconstruct their identities theatrically, while breaking the conventions of traditional portraiture. The conversation will also address the different meanings of being Latino in both the United States and art. Confirmed speakers will include Exhibition Artist María Martínez-Cañas; Postdoctoral Fellow José Falconi, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University; and Curator Taína Caragol, National Portrait Gallery. Americas Society's Assistant Curator Christina De León will moderate.

EXHIBITION TOUR
Thursday, July 9, 2015
6:30 p.m.
Artist Rachelle Mozman and Chief Curator Gabriela Rangel will lead a guided tour of the exhibition.
Americas Society
680 Park Avenue at 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
View map

Free for members
$10 for non-members

EXHIBITION TOUR
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
6:30 p.m.
Artist Michael Vasquez will lead a guided tour of the exhibition.
Americas Society
680 Park Avenue at 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
View map
Free for members
$10 for non-members

Press inquiries:
Adriana La Rotta | alarotta@as-coa.org | +1-212-277-8384
Kariela Almonte | kalmonte@as-coa.org | +1-212-277-8333

Americas Society is the premier organization dedicated to education, debate and dialogue in the Americas. Established by David Rockefeller in 1965, our mission is to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship. Americas Society Visual Arts program boasts the longest-standing private space in the U.S. dedicated to exhibiting and promoting art from Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada; it has achieved a unique and renowned leadership position in the field, producing both historical and contemporary exhibitions.                

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the history of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story. The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Website: npg.si.edu  Facebook facebook.com/npg.smithsonian; Instagram instagram.com/smithsoniannpg; blog face2face.si.edu; Twitter twitter.com/npg; YouTube youtube.com/NatlPortraitGallery