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. Featuring over 60 portraits alongside archival materials from 1979 to the present, 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. 

Abigail DeVille: Bronx Heavens examines the myths and realities of local, familial and ancestral histories and the convoluted notion of freedom in a country fraught with oppression and racism.  In particular, The Bronx has served as a sanctuary for immigrant and migrant communities over the last 120 years, including for Abigail DeVille and several generations of her family who have lived in the area and were part of the Great Migration. With a humanizing lens, DeVille’s work utilizes found materials and detritus to unearth forgotten narratives of communities of color. When these communities seek to reach another realm in pursuit of happiness, what does freedom mean? DeVille describes freedom as “amorphous, shapeshifting, and elusive” as her work further explores issues of identity, culture, and class.