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Ni de aquí, Ni de allá is a solo exhibition of works by David Rios Ferreira in the Corridor Gallery Project Space. Ni de aquí, Ni de allá translates to “Not from here, Not from there” which relates to Rios Ferreira’s investigations of race, nation and sexuality, this work stems from a hybrid of colonial, political and nationalist origins. Being a native of the Bronx, NY with Puerto Rican roots his works explore the dichotomies of self, heritage, and pop culture.

The work in Ni de aquí, Ni de allá examines the vejigante, a folkloric creature-like character found in Puerto Rican festival celebrations. Exploring carnival costumes and mask making traditions of the Caribbean and West Africa and combining these influences with appropriated images from coloring books, 18^th C. newspaper etchings, political cartoons and characters from children’s pop culture such as Astro Boy, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan—Rios Ferreira creates intricate layered works on paper and Mylar. The works reflect the artists attraction to “the hybrid nature of the vejigante—its mixed identity, its ‘in-betweeness,’ and its colonial, political and nationalist origins.”

The artist states “ My interest in the past is informed by issues of power found in the colonial narrative, especially that of the U.S. and its territories in which school children were subjected to deculturlization practices. In my drawings the child is the object of a performance—the embodiment of the interchange of cultural historical forces that simultaneously reinforce and challenge the fluidity inherent in identity.”

David Rios Ferreira holds a BFA from The Cooper Union. His recent artist residencies include The Center for Book Arts, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts and Lower East Side Printshop. In 2017 he will be featured in the Artist In the Marketplace (AIM 37) Biennial at The Bronx Museum of the Arts. He has exhibited in galleries and museums in the US and abroad, including BAM, CoCA Seattle, Nemeth Art Center, Minnesota and Kunstraum Richard Sorge Gallery, Berlin. 

The Opening Reception will take place Sunday, April 9th from 4-6pm. For further information about this exhibition, please contact charlotte@rushartsgallery.org or via phone 845-480-1258.