Pepón Osorio

Pepón Osorio

Purifier, 2011

Biography


Pepón Osorio, a 1999 MacArthur fellow and participant in the landmark 1993 Whitney Biennial, creates work that emerges from his experience as a social worker in the Bronx. His art practice includes objects, videos, and detailed installations that evoke familiar spaces such as barbershops, offices, and homes and respond to his experiences with persons inside specific, often Latino communities. His work nonetheless extrapolates beyond specificity to general themes such as family, community, and identity. His installation Drowned in a Glass of Water (2010) re-creates the home of a family he interacted with in Western Massachusetts, exploring issues of economics, cultural identity, and individual family struggles. Noting his work often yields difficult emotions, he has said he would love viewers to think about “who they are in relationship to what they had just seen, and start a negotiation not only with the artwork but with the public at large.”

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Exhibitions

May 23 – Aug 17, 2017 Group Show Art on the Front Lines

Sep 09 – Oct 21, 2011 Pepón Osorio Pepón Osorio

Jun 24 – Jul 28, 2011 Group Show Taking Shape

May 14 – Jun 22, 2010 Group Show Resurrectine

Pepón Osorio

Drowned in a Glass of Water, 2010

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Pepón Osorio

Drowned in a Glass of Water, 2010

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Pepón Osorio

Trials and Turbulence, 2004

view from the bench

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Pepón Osorio

My Beating Heart, 2002

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Pepón Osorio

No Crying Allowed in the Barber Shop, 1994

installation at Real Art Ways, Hartford, Connecticut

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Pepón Osorio

Fear and Denial, 1997

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Pepón Osorio

Las Twines, 1999

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Pepón Osorio

Las Twines, 1999

detail

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Pepón Osorio

La Cama (The Bed), 1987

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Pepón Osorio

La Bicicleta, 1985

Pepón Osorio

Todo O Nada, 2011

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Pepón Osorio

Todo O Nada, 2011

front

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Pepón Osorio

Todo O Nada, 2011

back

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Drowned in a Glass of Water, 2010

installation view

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Trials and Turbulence, 2004

installation view

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Face to Face, 2002

installation view

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Face to Face, 2002

installation view

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Badge of Honor, 1995

Newark, New Jersey installation view

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Pepón Osorio

Todo O Nada, 2011

front

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pepón Osorio

Todo O Nada, 2011

back

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Drowned in a Glass of Water, 2010

installation view

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Trials and Turbulence, 2004

installation view

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Face to Face, 2002

installation view

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Face to Face, 2002

installation view

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Badge of Honor, 1995

Newark, New Jersey installation view