The Board of Trustees of The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Chairperson Joseph Mizzi, and Executive Director Klaudio Rodriguez cordially invite you to join us for the opening reception of the exhibition Swagger and Tenderness: The South Bronx Portraits of John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres. This day-long celebration will include a first glance of the exhibition, Family Day art making activities, and more!
Family Day will take place in the galleries from 1-4 pm, followed by celebratory remarks at 4 pm.
Inspired and enabled by the people who live in the vibrant community where the Bronx Museum is located, local artists John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres have become world-famous for their portraits of their South Bronx neighbors. While museum-goers elsewhere have celebrated these renowned sculptures honoring Bronxites for four decades, this is the first time a large group of these artworks will be exhibited together at home for the very people represented therein. This major survey exhibition mirrors the creative and loving residents of the South Bronx whose personal stories and innovative aesthetics both reflect and shape culture internationally.
Ahearn and Torres are often praised for uplifting their subjects, thus representing social justice, diversity, dignity, and equity. This exhibition conveys how the subjects also uplifted the artists, making these portraits powerful by contributing their knowledge and spirit as well as their physical form. These timeless artworks celebrate the swagger and tenderness—the true power—of our beautiful, stylish neighbors. The show aims to bring attention to the value of every individual and family who has helped shape this proud, unique, and influential community. Swagger and Tenderness is framed by and for the very community that nurtured and empowered Ahearn’s and Torres’s creative talents.
