Berks
Now: Yadira Leticia Torres
August
14, 2004 - October 24, 2004
In
response to visitor and Member requests
to see more local art, Berks Now
is an exhibition program that has been launched
to feature the work of local artists, many
from Berks County. The third artist to be
featured is Yadira Leticia Torres, a third
generation Puerto Rican American and 2003
graduate of Moore College of Art & Design.
Torres series Matrilineal Reflections, mixed
media depicting female figures, will be
featured in the auditorium hallway from
August 14, 2004 to October 24, 2004.
The next Berks Now artist is Marilyn
Fox November 20, 2004 to February 6, 2005.
Berks Now, is supported by the Friends of
the Reading Museum, the Pennsylvania Council
on the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission. Regular Museum admission
is $7 adults and $5 children 4 to 17. Museum
hours are Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday 11am
to 5pm, Wednesday 11am to 8pm and Sunday
Noon to 5pm.
Torres graduated from Moore College of Art
& Design in Philadelphia, PA with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts. It
was not until her sophomore year in college
that she became serious about painting and
manifesting her heritage in her artwork.
Torres stated, “As a third generation
Puerto Rican American I have struggled with
the difficulties of straddling my two worlds.
That of living, speaking and working as
an American while still trying to hold desperately
to my cultural roots. The burden of not
knowing Spanish has left me with the need
to fulfill the expression of my heritage
through the language of my work.”
While at Moore College, Torres traveled
to Venezuela and Mexico, where the culture
and art strongly influenced her artwork.
Many of the pieces in Torres collection
feature oil paintings of female figures,
she describes as “a representation
of the strong matriarchs of her family and
culture.” The pieces also display
many aspects of the Carribean Carnival,
such as headdresses and masked faces. Her
work has been exhibited both nationally
and internationally in numerous group exhibitions,
including student shows at Moore College,
the Academy of Music Group Show in Meridia,
Venezuala, the 61st Annual Exhibition Keisho
Art Association, NAOYA Japan, and at the
Hispanic Center in Reading, PA. She continues
to paint, as well as create artwork for
books.
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