On view: June 11 - October 1, 2022
Opening Reception: 3 to 6 pm, Saturday, June 11
Free and open to the public
Location: On the Fire Escapes at Bronx Kreate Hub, 15 Canal Place in Mott Haven

BRONX, NY - En Foco and WallWorks NY present Night Vision, a fire escape exhibition at Bronx Kreate Hub featuring black and white images taken in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and Chinatown by photographer Marisol Díaz-Gordon. The exhibit, part of En Foco’s new Fire Escape Gallery, opens on June 11 with a reception from 3 to 6 pm. It is free and open to the public.

The Fire Escape Gallery enables artists the opportunity to explore this urban, iconic public space for photography and lens-based art. There will be two curated exhibits organized annually for this new En Foco venue. A Bronx-born and raised Puerto Rican award-winning photographer, Díaz-Gordon says black and white photography is the main attraction for her. “It is removed from the glitz and glamor of color,” she says. “It tears down the noise and provides one the simplicity of what is there. Supplies clarity, truth, and a path to a destination without complications. Sure, there are some grays between the spaces, but so does life. We live in grays and come alive in the drama of contractions and extremes.”

Díaz-Gordon’s street photography project has evolved from the Lower Manhattan series to Night Vision, a collection of images of the Lower East Side and Chinatown captured at night, resequenced, and translated into a triptych. “As triptychs, the language changes to a story on a panel that becomes a question of relationships from one image to another—placed together organically, not logically, to be deciphered by the viewer,” Díaz-Gordon says. Díaz-Gordon is also the curator of Reveal, an exhibition of En Foco’s 2022 Photography Fellowship winners, which also opens on June 11 at WallWorks NY, Bronx Kreate Kub.

About The Artist

Marisol Díaz-Gordon was the former Program Director of En Foco from 1998 to 2011. She is currently working on her MFA in Digital Media at Lehman College, CUNY. She received a BA focusing on photography from City College, CUNY (2002), and an AAS in Advertising Arts/Computer Graphics from Bronx Community College, CUNY (1993). Her work has been exhibited in galleries and alternative spaces throughout New York, including by En Foco (2000 and 2011), George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York (2008), and Taller Boricua Gallery, New York, New York
(2006). In 2008, she was nominated by En Foco for a commission with George Eastman Museum to document landscapes in Puerto Rico. That work traveled to such venues as the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2009), and is currently held in the permanent collection of the George Eastman Museum. From 2016 to 2018, ARTViews Gallery at Montefiore Medical Center collected, commissioned, and exhibited her work. She is also a participant in the Bronx Artist Documentary Project (2014).

About The Fire Escape Gallery

The Fire Escape Gallery is a new public art initiative developed by En Foco, which activates the exterior of Bronx Kreate Hub turning the fire escapes into a public gallery space. The goal of the Fire Escape Gallery is to create ongoing public photography exhibitions that highlight En Foco’s growing community of artists of color. The public gallery serves as a way to promote and highlight diverse artists as well as cultural, art, and local tourism in the South Bronx. It also supports local businesses via art and community.

About Bronx Kreate Hub

Bronx Kreate Hub is a workspace and community incubator in Mott Haven that supports the growth and continued success of local artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs. Community members represent a diverse array of specialties, including animators, graffiti artists, photographers, designers, and community organizations like En Foco and the Mott Haven Film Festival among others. Studio spaces are available at an array of affordable price points, reaffirming Kreate Hub’s commitment to building community through access.

About the En Foco South Bronx Art Tour

The En Foco South Bronx Art Tour is a special event organized by En Foco consisting of the opening of three special exhibitions on June 11 across two venues. Reveal: The 2022 Fellowship Awardee

Exhibitions and Night Vision:

Marisol Diaz-Gordon open at Kreate Hub Bronx. Reflejos/Reflections: Adeline Lulo and Erika Morillo opens at The Romanesque Revival Row House Gallery, also in the South Bronx. Reveal features the 2022 winners of the En Foco photography fellowship, and Reflejos/Reflections features Adeline Lulo and Erika Morillo, both previous winners of the En Foco Photography Fellowship and both photographers of Dominican heritage. The exhibit focuses on the Dominican experience, documenting, uplifting, and celebrating their families, their communities, and their cultural legacies. Reflejos/Reflections is on view from June 11 - July 13, by appointment only. For more information, please contact [email protected].

About En Foco

En Foco, Inc. is a non-profit that supports U.S.-based photographers of African, Asian, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander heritage. Founded in 1974, En Foco makes their work visible to the art world, yet remains accessible to under-served communities. Through exhibitions, workshops, events, and publications, it provides professional recognition, honoraria, and assistance to photographers as they grow into different stages of their careers. For more information about En Foco, visit www.enfoco.org.

This exhibition is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, Ford Foundation, The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, Inc., and private contributions. Special thank You to New Settlement Apartments, Pepon Osorio and BronxNet for supporting this collaboration. Member of the Urban Arts Cooperative.