“The house became full of love.”
Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, 1967.
Only a few of the artworks in this exhibition depict home as being a physical house. Yet, in their explorations of what constitutes home, the works are full of love.
Heritage and Home: Latin American Artists of the East End features over a dozen artists of Latin American descent. Many of the artists were born and raised in the United States, while others immigrated here as children or adults. Each of their works is accompanied by wall text that notes the artist’s place of ancestry and their present home location. The former encompasses a range of countries in South and Central America, as well Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Present home locations are scattered throughout the East End of Long Island.
The artists’ engagement with the complexities of social and cultural heritage and the notion of home has resulted in an array of subject matter. Some works address the trauma or memory of immigration, while others focus on celebrating familial and cultural lineage. What tends to unite the works is the sense that “home” can travel with us, and be more places than just one.
The range of artistic media is similarly extensive. Painting, sculpture, textiles, film, and mixed media are all featured. The exhibition also dismantles the divide between fine and folk art, with the inclusion of Mexican Alebrijes sculptures, Guatemalan piñatas, and Ecuadorian-American puppets that tells stories from various Latin American countries.
In addition to the artworks in the downstairs gallery, Heritage and Home includes sculptures by J. Oscar Molina and Aurelio Torres in the library’s grounds. These works were inspired by memories of migrations from one home to another; situated outside the library, they are totems of welcome to all.