Celebrate Public Art Fund’s newest exhibition, Edra Soto: Graft, in Central Park! Join us for a drop-in event with opening remarks, light complimentary refreshments provided by local food trucks, and a chance to explore the artist’s sculptural installation for the first time. The exhibition is located at Doris C. Freedman Plaza, in the southeast corner of Central Park, near Grand Army Plaza. The closest subway stops are the N, R, W at 5th Avenue; and the 4, 5, 6 at 59th Street/Lexington Avenue.
Edra Soto (b. 1971, Puerto Rico) explores the relationship between our private, interior lives and shared public history and culture. Graft is the latest in an ongoing series of installations based on rejas, wrought iron screens frequently seen outside homes in Puerto Rico. Rejas often feature repeating geometric motifs that can be traced to West Africa’s Yoruba symbol systems, in contrast to the Spanish architecture celebrated in official Puerto Rican tourism. Graft investigates how Puerto Rican cultural memory often masks the Black heritage of the island as folklore.
Made from corten steel and terrazzo, Graft is a monument to working class Puerto Rican communities and Soto’s first sculpture inspired by a specific house façade. Tables and seating invite visitors to enjoy a moment of rest, connection, and reflection. The sculpture creates a threshold, with one side representing a home’s exterior; the other, the more intimate atmosphere of an interior. The work’s title addresses Soto’s complex sentiments around migrating to Chicago while remaining connected to Puerto Rico. For Soto, feelings of dislocation are compounded by the island’s ambiguous status as an unincorporated territory of the United States. Graft opens connections between Puerto Rican communities across the city and reminds us of the centrality of the Caribbean to the history of New York City and the United States.
Edra Soto: Graft is curated by Public Art Fund Senior Curator Melanie Kress with support from Public Art Fund Assistant Curator Jenée-Daria Strand, and initial development by former Public Art Fund Senior Curator Allison Glenn.
