Smithsonian
Donald W. Reynolds Center
for American Art and Portraiture
National Portrait Gallery
and the
Contacts:
Alberto Cuessy, Deputy Director
National Hispanic Cultural Center
Cell Phone: 505-238-2695
Email: alberto.cuessy2@state.nm.us
Website: nhccnm.org
Bethany Bentley, Public Information Officer
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Cell Phone: 202-633-8293
Email: bentleyb@si.edu
Website: newsdesk.si.edu
National Hispanic Cultural Center Presents Traveling Exhibition Organized by Smithsonian’s
National Portrait Gallery of Works by Contemporary Latino American Artists
ALBUQUERQUE, NM. 10/8/2015. The National Hispanic Cultural Center is proud to host the traveling
art exhibition Staging the Self / Ponerse En Imagen, organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait
Gallery, beginning with an opening reception on November 6, 2015, from 6 to 8pm in the NHCC Art
Museum. Curated by Taína Caragol, the National Portrait Gallery’s curator of Latino art and history,
Staging the Self / Ponerse En Imagen, is the ninth installation of “Portraiture Now,” a series of
exhibitions that showcase some of the most creative twenty-first-century portrait artists. The exhibition
will be open at the NHCC through March 27, 2016.
“This series of exhibitions showcases contemporary artists who are breaking the conventions of
portraiture,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “In ‘Staging the Self,’ these artists
show complex contemporary identities unfolding between themselves and their subjects. They are both
within and between American and Latino cultures.” “The inclusion of Latino artists in this series of
exhibitions and in the dialogue and purview of our Nation’s greatest institutions is critical, as the size of
the Latino population grows from 17 to 28 percent of our population over the coming 45 years,” said
Rebecca Avitia, executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. “The Center considers it an
imperative to support the Smithsonian’s effort in this area by hosting this important exhibition in our Art
Museum.”
“Staging the Self” features 54 works by six contemporary U.S. Latino artists—David Antonio Cruz,
Carlee Fernandez, María Martínez-Cañas, Rachelle Mozman, Karen Miranda Rivadeneira, and Michael
Vasquez—who present identities theatrically, in order to rid portraiture of its reassuring tradition that
fixes a person in space and time. 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. Some of the artists reference their Latino
heritage in their work, and some do not. As they present themselves in a staged manner, portraiture loses
its aura of certainty and becomes an evolving map for finding oneself and others. 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.
This exhibition team is led by Taína Caragol, 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 National Portrait Gallery is committed to expanding visitors’ ideas of portraiture through its
programs, including the ongoing series of “Portraiture Now” exhibitions, which explore contemporary
artists working to explore figuration in new ways. 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 http://instagram.com/smithsoniannpg; blog face2face.si.edu;
Twitter twitter.com/npg; YouTube youtube.com/NatlPortraitGallery.
The National Hispanic Cultural Center is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and advancement of
Hispanic culture, arts, and humanities, and is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural
Affairs. Located at 1701 4th St. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, the Center is also on social media
@nhccnm and online at nhccnm.org.
If you would like more information about this exhibit or other events at the NHCC, please call Alberto
Cuessy at 505-238-2695 or e-mail alberto.cuessy2@state.nm.us.
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