Wishing you an extraordinarily healthy, happy, and safe 2022 as we continue to face the challenge of a worldwide pandemic. 2021 was the year of resilience. I have endured and have been able to be productive in my artistic career. I greatly appreciate all the support I received from friends, family, and colleagues. The year was filled with rewarding artistic efforts and accomplishments.
“The Quell”, 2020 Acrylic on scrim
Before entering 2021, I finished the previous year with “The Quell”, 7’x9’. This artwork was part of the Appropriated Intentions artist actions, For the Love of Art, curated by Alexis Mendoza at Fort George Hill in New York City. This artwork, standing against racism, was influenced by Keith Haring, with whom I had worked in the Eighties, Philip Guston, and Jean Michel Basquiat.
“Fruits of the Spirit”, 2021 Banners and Poles
“Fruits of the Spirit”, at the Queens Botanical Garden, is a 2021 installation consisting of three art banners along the garden’s main lawn. Inspired by the words Love, Peace, and Joy, in English, Spanish, and Chinese, they create a graceful and festive atmosphere. These artworks are meant to lift the spirit in our present difficult times. I was a selected artist for the AnkhLave Garden Project Fellowship, where the objective is to consider art presentations beyond the traditional, white-walled spaces.
“American Congo”, 2016, Acrylic, wood, screws, nails, and rope
“American Congo” is a relief sculpture made of acrylic, wood, screws, nails, and rope. This artwork was selected by the curator Haifa Bint-Kadi for the exhibition Ubuntu: I Am Because You Are. Riverfront Art Gallery, Yonkers, New York.
This sculpture is based on the Power Figures of the Congo in Africa. These figures served as doctor, judge, and priest. They are carved to capture the power of spirits that were important for healing and for adjudicating disputes. The figure was filled with powerful magical substances by priests and tended to in a shrine, where its spirit powers were made available to individuals. Nails were driven into the figure upon a mutual agreement to seal an oath. In this way, the figure's supernatural powers could be called upon to punish those who broke their oaths.
In “American Congo”, I call on our society to take an oath of freedom in a deeply divided world in the hope of finding healing and resolution.
“Honoring My Grandparents”, 2016 Mixed Media on wood
“Honoring My Grandparents” was selected for the Viva La Memento Mori exhibition at the AHA Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. This artwork refers to the hardships my grandparents and family faced during a tyrannical era in the Dominican Republic.
“Dominicanidad”, 2021, Painting on paper
“Dominicanidad”, an acrylic painting on a New York City Zoning Map, was included in the There & Here exhibition as part of the New York Dominican Book Fair. This artwork refers to the state and quality of being Dominican outside the island nation. Our cultural heritage and advancement require nurturing to develop to their fullest potential. I hope to inspire a vision of infinite possibilities and achievement. The sky’s the limit.
“Rebirth of Our Nation”, 2020, Acrylic on wood, 8’x4’
“Rebirth of Our Nation” is now on display at the Sugar Hill Building windows on St. Nicholas Ave and 155th Street. This painting addresses Black Lives Matter and was in the exhibition Black Is Beautiful: From Carlos Cooks to COVID-19 at the Sugar Hill Museum in Harlem, New York City. This artwork was commissioned by the Rio Galleries of Broadway Housing Communities under the curatorship of Ana-Ofelia Rodriguez and the directorship of Ellen Baxter, with the support of Manon Slone and Eve Moros Ortega of the Plywood Project. The exhibition was reviewed by Architectural Digest: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/plywood-project-art
“Rebirth of Our Nation”, 2020, Relief Print, 14”x11”
The Clemente Center in New York City included the print “Rebirth of Our Nation” in the exhibition Social Reckoning - eMeLe-K, curated by Alexis Mendoza. The exhibition honored Martin Luther King, Jr. and what he stood for.
“Rebirth of Our Nation 2”, 2021, Silk Screen Print, 30”x22”
“Rebirth of Our Nation 2” is a new print based on the black-and-white print and color painting of the same name. It is an edition of 26, available to the public. It was published by Coronado Studios of Austin, Texas.
Nation of Graffiti Artists, NOGA, Book, 2021
I am prominently featured in the new book Nation of Graffiti Artists (NOGA), written by Chris Pape, photographs by Michael Lawrence, and published by Beyond the Streets, 2021. Some of my photographs are in there as well. I started out as a graffiti artist, writing as SAL 161. I eventually ventured into NOGA, the Nation of Graffiti Artists, an artist's workshop located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was the vision of Jack Pelsinger for an art studio where kids could develop their interests in the arts. I created some of my first artworks on canvas there. The book reviewed by Brooklyn Street Art. https://www.brooklynstreetart.com/2021/12/11/nation-of-graffiti-artists-opens-another-chapter-of-nyc-writer-history/
The book is available at https://beyondthestreets.com/
“Mentalmente” “Enraizamiente” “Avioneta”
In 2021, The ArteLatAm artist collective, of which I am a member, and which is composed of artists of Latin American and Caribbean descent (Argentina, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela), added three prints by one of the members to the Deriva linoleum print portfolio. I organized the portfolio, which contains 18 original prints (three prints by each of the six artists) in an edition of 25. The portfolios are available at: https://artelatam.org/deriva/
The mission of the ArteLatAm artist collective is to contribute to a better and deeper understanding of contemporary Latin American art in the United States, an American art.
“El Reggaetón del Bachatero,” 2010 Etching aquatint print with Chine Colle
In 2021, I was interviewed by Lauren Chalk of Griffith University for her Ph.D. research project in relation to the print “El Reggaetón del Bachatero,” which is now part of the exhibition ¡Printing the Revolution!, which is traveling from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Here is the link to that interview.
Group Exhibitions coming in 2022
The In-Between Spaces January 6 – March 24
Riverfront Art Gallery, Yonkers, New York
For The Public January 16 – February 19
Local Project, Long Island City, New York
¡Printing the Revolution! February 20 – May 8
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas
(Touring from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC)
¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States April 23, 2022 – December 1, 2024
National Museum of American History, Washington, DC
Your interest in my work is greatly appreciated, and, as always, I send you my best wishes for the year moving forward. Please share The Ros Report with those who may enjoy my artwork.
May peace and unity reign!
Moses Ros
Visual Artist
moses_ros@yahoo.com
mosesros.com
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