The Taller Boricua presents “Drawing Conclusions,” a group exhibition of 8 contemporary New York artists: Firelei Báez, Matthew Burcaw, Ricardo Hernández-Santiago, Juan Hinojosa, Chuyen Huynh, Jongil Ma, Adrian “Viajero” Roman and Melquíades Rosario-Sastre.

Through drawing, the artists challenge the boundaries of both the medium itself as well as the underlying context of the social and political issues presented. Incorporating other art forms such as sculpture, installation, collage and new media, their work explores the underlying constructs and institutionalized norms of culture such as gender, identity, government, economics as well as the sociology and psychology of our collective behaviors and desires.

When drawing a conclusion, we seek a deeper understanding of a situation or event. The work in this exhibition challenges the viewers to look beyond the surface, both literally and figuratively, and delve into the human condition and the world around us. It offers the opportunity to suspend disbelief and allow the innate power of a drawing to give form to that which is implied, perceived and inferred in culture—inviting you to read between the lines.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Firelei Báez was born in the Dominican Republic and now lives and works in New York. Her paintings, drawings and collages explore personal narratives and immigrant issues with a focus on gender and popular culture through the use of Afro-Caribbean folklore. Báez received her BFA from Cooper Union (New York), and is currently completing her MFA at Hunter College (New York). Báez has exhibited at the New Jersey City Museum, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (New York) and in the Bronx Artist Biennial, BX1. She has received awards from Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO), Aljira Center for Contemporary Art as well as a residency from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. fireleibaez.com

Matthew Burcaw currently lives and works in New York City. His sculptures, installations and drawings offer utopian and dystopian macro views of socio-political structures in micro formats. Burcaw received his BFA and MFA from Parsons School of Design and participated in the Bronx Museum’s AIM28. He has exhibited extensively throughout the tri-state area including the Artists Space (New York), the Stamford Museum (Connecticut), the Blue Room Project (New York) and the Bronx Museum, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, (Newark), the Bronx Art Space, and LMCC’s Swing Spaces (New York). He currently teaches children’s art workshops and has worked with the Whitney Museum of American Art (Connecticut), the Domus Foundation Avenues Program (Connecticut) and The Point (New York). matthewburcaw.com

Ricardo Hernández-Santiago was born in San Juan and now works and lives between both in New York and Puerto Rico. His drawings and sculptures delve into the darker corners of the human psyche and investigate how human sensibilities overlap with our innate animal nature. He has exhibited extensively in the US and Puerto Rico including Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Puerto Rico (San Juan), Museum of Latin American Art (Los Angeles), The Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College (New York) and Artetica Gallery (Rome). His work is in permanent collections in both the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Puerto Rico and The Museum of Old and New Art (Tasmania). ricardohernandez.net

Juan Hinojosa is a mixed-media installation artist who currently lives and works in New York City. Constructed from stolen and found objects, his complex, collage-drawing installations challenge the obsessive consumerism and social stratification of American culture. Hinojosa received his BFA from Parsons School of Design and was awarded residencies at both the Vermont Studio Center and Aljira Center for Contemporary Art (Emerge 9). His exhibitions include Cuchifritos Project Place (New York), the Lehman College Art Gallery (New York), Aljira Center for Contemporary Art (Newark) and Arteria (Shanghai). Most recently he was accepted into NYFA’s “Artist Boot Camp” where he was profiled and photographed for the cover of The New York Times. juanhinojosa.com

Chuyen Huynh is a mix-media painter and sculptor currently living and working in New York City. Through site-specific, automatic drawing, she seeks to capture and define the chaos and motion of her surroundings. Huynh holds a BFA from Syracuse University and has also studied at the Chautauqua Art Institute, Syracuse University in Florence (SUF) and the Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art (Brittany, France). She has exhibited in Italy, France and the US. Huynh was a Pierre-Louis Roederer Scholar and was also awarded grants from Syracuse University and Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution (VACI). chuyenmhuynh.com

Jongil Ma was born in Korea and currently lives and works in New York City. Utilizing thin strips of wood, Ma creates three-dimensional drawings in space through large scale, site-specific installations that reflect and engage both the existing physical architecture as well as the occupant’s psychological experience. He holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts (New York) and has been awarded residencies at AIM, Bronx Museum of Art and the Kwangju Art Museum (Korea). Ma has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally including LMCC at Governors Island (New York), the Changwon Asian Art Festival (Korea), Socrates Sculpture Park (New York) and the Lodz Biennale (Poland). He has also received the Hanyang Mart Cultural Merits Award (Korea), AHL Foundation’s INC Visual Arts Award (New York) and the Art In City Project Award (Korea). majongil.com

Adrian Roman (“El Viajero”) is a mixed-media artist who currently lives and works in New York City. Roman received a BFA from the New World School of Art (Florida). Influenced by his own Puerto Rican heritage and travel experiences in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, his drawings incorporate the surface of materials in creating intimate psychological and emotional portraits. Roman’s exhibitions include the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (New York), the NARS Foundation (New York) and CIRCA (Puerto Rico). His work has been featured in the Washington Post, the Latin Star and Art Trade. viajeroart.com

Melquíades Rosario-Sastre currently lives and works in Puerto Rico. His mixed media sculptures and drawings explore the relationship of art, artist and viewer to both natural world and the influence of sociopolitical structures upon culture. He studied at the School of Fine Arts of the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture in San Juan and The Art Students League of New York. Rosario-Sastre is the founder of the Association of Puerto Rican Sculptors. He has exhibited extensively through the US and Puerto Rico including Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (Santurce), Primera Bienal Iberoamericana de Lima (Perú), Museo de la UPR (Río Piedras), The New Hostos Gallery, Hostos Center for The Arts and Culture (New York), Centro de Bellas Artes (Santurce), Museo de Historia de la UPR (San Juan), Museo de Arte Moderno OEA (Washington, DC) and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rio (San Juan).