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The second curator featured as part of our Curators’ series is Edith Vaisberg H., introducing us to Devin Osorio's work, a New York-born artist based in Mexico City. This body of work was created based on Osorio’s anecdotes of his own upbringing, phrases that he grew up hearing, and icons that he has created about his community in Washington Heights, NYC. 

 

This particular series is inspired by an icon he made as part of his “Los Allácános” series from 2019, titled “Soy Un Potted Plant,” which visualizes the way in which he views First-Generation Dominicans. “We are like tropical plants that have grown up and live in pots. We have migrated from the island to be fertilized in a foreign territory within foreign architecture. These portraits represent individuals from Washington Heights and myself as a tropical potted plant.”

 

Some of these drawings are two-dimensional representations of tiles that capture anecdotes and phrases from his community. For instance, he always heard “La Hierba Mala Nunca Muere” as a way to describe evil people that seem to always get away with things such as politicians, drug dealers, and people in the government. “Dentro Los Ojos Está El Mundo” was created in homage to the artist's uncle. Growing up, he would tease them, children, by saying that anything they wanted or needed was located within their eye: anything from a dollar to a candy bar. This tile captures that image of the world being created from within an eye. 

 

Devin Osorio grew up as a first-generation Dominican-American in Washington Heights, an area of ​​Manhattan with a strong Dominican presence, and where a rich cultural diversity but also certain social inequalities can be observed. Osorio finds inspiration in his origins, which heavily influence his practice, using his formal education as a rebound technique to create honest and authentic work. Devin Osorio received his BFA from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in 2015. Devin has exhibited his works in galleries in the US and Mexico such as in Charlie James Gallery (Los Angeles), Regular Normal (New York), The Seaport 23-25 (New York) and Apartaco MX (Mexico city), among others. 

 

Osorio has been brought to you by Edith Vaisberg H., an art curator and advisor based in Mexico City. She was born and raised in Venezuela and moved to New York at the age of 18, where she graduated from Pratt Institute. In 2016, Edith founded Adhesivo magazine, a yearly print publication, as a platform to promote the work of young contemporary artists. In 2020, she founded Apartaco MX in Mexico City as a space to exhibit works by artists from all around the world and a place to host visitors, collectors, and locals. She recently joined ICI (Independent Curators International).