Pepón Osorio. Photo: Sam Fritch
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, multidisciplinary artist Pepón Osorio (b. 1955) moved to the South Bronx in 1975. Informed by his background in theater and performance as well as his experiences as a child services case worker and professor, he has pioneered a type of artmaking prioritizing social engagement. His richly textured sculptures and installations examine political and cultural injustices affecting Latinx and working-class communities in the United States. For over 35 years, Osorio has advanced critical conversations surrounding race, gender, and identity as well as structural inequalities in the United States healthcare, education, and prison systems. Developed through long-term conversations and collaborations, Osorio’s work is further distinguished by creating and displaying his installations with and in a community before ever entering an art institution. He lives and works between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. He has presented solo exhibitions at Williams College Art Museum, Williamstown, MA; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA; Museo de San Juan, San Juan, PR; El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY; Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston, TX; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; and Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas, Venezuela, among others. His work has been featured in group exhibitions at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles, CA; New Museum, New York, NY; El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY; MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY; 2006 São Paulo Biennial, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, CA; 1997 Bienal de Cuba, Havana, Cuba; 1997 Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa; Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH; and the 1993 Whitney Biennial, New York, NY. His works have also been shown in multiple storefronts, schools, theaters, and other unconventional exhibition spaces throughout the world. Osorio is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasure Artist Fellowship (2022); the Guggenheim Fellowship (2021); the United States Artists Fellowship (2018); the Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement from the College Art Association, CAA (2018); the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture (2001); the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1999), and the Alpert Award in the Arts-Visual Arts (1999). Pepón Osorio: My Beating Heart/Mi corazón latiente, the most comprehensive exhibition of Osorio’s work to date, was on view at the New Museum, New York, NY, in summer 2023. In Fall 2024, Philadelphia Contemporary held his solo exhibition Pepón Osorio: Convalescence.
Pepón Osorio
b. 1955, Santurce, Puerto Rico
Education
1978
Universidad Inter-Americana, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
1974
BS, Herbert H Lehman College, Bronx, NY
1985
MA, Columbia University, New York, NY
Solo Exhibitions
2024
Convalescence, Philadelphia Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
2023
My Beating Heart/ Mi corazón latiente, The New Museum, New York, NY
2021
Pepón Osorio’s Badge of Honor, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
2017
Abject/Object Empathies, Cornell Council for the Arts Biennial, Cornell University
2015
reForm, University Classroom at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Pepon Osorio: Where the Me Becomes We, Grounds for Sculpture, Domestic Arts Building – Main Gallery, Hamilton, NJ
2012
Resting Stops: an altenative pilgrimage, Kathmandu Contemporary Arts Centre, Patan Museum, Nepal
2011
Pepón Osorio, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
2010
Drowned in a Glass of Water, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA
Latino/a Visual IMaginary: Intersection of Word & Image, two person show with Amalia Mesa-Bains, Albuquerque, NM
2009
Pepón Osorio, Galeria Lorenzo Homar, Taller Puertorriqueño, Philadelphia, PA
2008
Pepón Osorio, Mason Gross Gallery, Rutgers University, New Brusnwick, NJ
2005
Trials and Turbulence, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
2004
Trials and Turbulence: Pepón Osorio, An Artist in Residence at DHS, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA; Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA
2003
Face to Face, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL
2002
The Bronx Celebrates: Pepón Osorio, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY
Pepón Osorio, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
2000
Pepón Osorio: Door to Door, Escuela de Artes Plásticas, Museo de San Juan, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, and Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
1999
Pepon Osorio: Transboricua, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
Fear and Denial & Las Twines, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
Transboricua, The RISD Museum, Providence, RI
1998
Las Twines, Hostos Art Gallery, Bronx, NY
Sala seis: Pepón Osorio, Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas, Venezuela
Pepón Osorio, Espacio Uno, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain
1998
Pepón Osorio, Otis Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Westchester, CA
Badge of Honor, Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, CA
1996
bi-lingua-lismo, Museo de Pedro Albizu, Campos, Chicago, IL
Pepón Osorio, Galerie OZ, Paris, France
Badge of Honor, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
En la barberia no se llora, Tyler Galleries, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA
1995
Project 5: Pepón Osorio-Badge of Honor, Storefront, 33 Broadway, Newark, NJ; The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
1994
No Crying Allowed in the Barbershop, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
1993
Scene of the Crime (Whose Crime?), Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH
1992
The Wake: Aids in the Latino Community, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Historias, University of the Arts, Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
1991
Ole!, CU Art Galleries, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Pepón Osorio: con to’ los hierros, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
1985
Ah, Great Power of God!, Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture, Hostos Community College, Bronx, NY
Select Group Exhibitions
2024
The Shape of Power: Stories of American Race and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
Airhead, P·P·O·W, New York, NY
El tiempo de todavía. Apuntes desde las artes visuals en el Cariba. 1984 – 2003, Centro Cultural Eduardo León Jimenes, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
2023
Puerto Rico Negrx, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Airspace, Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York, NY
2022
Caribbean Transitions, American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, American University, Washington, D.C.
2019
Making Knowing: Craft In Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
2017
Home – So Different, So Appealing: Art from the Americas since 1957, Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles, CA
Art on the Front Lines, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
2015
Come As You Are: Art of the 1990s, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ; travelled to Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Objects to be Contemplated, Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art + Design, Sarasota, FL
2013
Changing Scenes: Points of View in Contemporary Media Art, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, New Museum, New York, NY
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
2012
Who more Sci-fi Than Us, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Everyday Things: Contemporary Works from the Collection, Museum of Art, RISD, Providence, RI
Con los santos no se juega/Don't Mess with the Saint, The University Galleries, William Paterson University, NJ
2011
Taking Shape, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
2010
Primera Trienal Internacional del Caribe, Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Resurrectine, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
Graphic Unconscious, Philagrafika 2010, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Voces y Visiones, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
BLACK&WHITEWORKS, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
Kréyol Factory: Exposition Des artistes interrogent les identités creoles, Parc La Villete, Paris, France
2008
NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith, The Menil Collection, Houston, TX; travelled to P.S.1 Contemporary Arts Center, Long Island City, NY; Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL
HOMEMADE: A Celebration in Neighborhood Identity, Fleisher’s Community Partnership in the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
From Taboo to Icon: Africanist Turnabout, Crane Arts LLC, Philadelphia, PA
2007
Badge of Honor: The Project, The Lighthouse, Philadelphia, PA
Solos: 20th Anniversary Exhibitions: Part Two, Selby Gallery, Ringling School of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL
2006
27th Sao Paulo Biennial, Parque do Ibirapuera, Sao Paolo, Brazil
The Skowhegan School of Painting And Sculpture: 60 Years, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME
2004
FACEOFF, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
Art by MacArthur Fellows, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Trienal Poli/Grafica De San Juan: America Latina Y El Caribe, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2003
Somewhere Better Than This Place, The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
Off the Record, The Skylight Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Ameri©an Dre@m, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
2002
Crisis Response, The RISD Museum, Providence, RI
2001
A Painting for Over the Sofa (that’s not necessarily a painting), Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL; travelled to Knoxville Museum of Art Knoxville, TN; Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR; William Patterson University, Wayne, NJ
New Land Marks: Public Art, Community, and the Meaning of Place, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2000
SNAPSHOT, Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD
8 Artists in an Archive, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
Illuminations: Contemporary Film and Video Art, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Representing: A Show of Identities, The Parrish Art Museum, Southhampton, NY
ID/Y2K: Identity at the Millennium, Castle Gallery, College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY
1999
Other Narratives, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
Home Altars: Sacred Space in the Domestic Realm, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
Urban Mythologies: The Bronx Represented Since the 1960s, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, NY
To The Rescue: Eight Artists in an Archive, International Center of Photography Midtown, New York, NY
1998
Not Only for Art's Sake, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Puerto Rican Equation, The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter College, New York, NY
1997
2nd Johannesburg Biennale 1997, Africus Institute for Contemporary Art, Johannesburg, South Africa
American Stories-Amidst Displacement and Transformation, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo; travelled to Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan; Kurashiki City Museum of Art, Kurashiki, Japan; Akita Prefectural Cultural Hall, Akita, Japan.
sí está la Cosa: instalación y arte objecto en América Latina, Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporáneo Mexico City, Mexico
Do It, a traveling exhibition conceived and curated by Hans-Ulrich Obrist, and organized and circulated by Independent Curators Incorporated New York
As Time Goes By: History, Memory and the Sentimental, Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion, Stamford, CT
VI Bienal de Cuba, Havana, Cuba
International Contemporary Art Fair, Madrid, Spain
Techno-Seduction, Cooper Union, New York, NY, with the College Art Association
1996
American Kaleidoscope: Themes and Perspectives in Recent Art, Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Sculpture Chicago: Re-inventing the Garden City, Humbolt Park, Chicago, IL
Legacy/Legado: A Latino Bicentennial Reflection, The Old State House, Hartford, CT
The Home Show II, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA
1995
Archeological Urban Data, Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion, Stamford, CT
Dialog der Kulturen, Configura 2, Erfurt, Germany
Art at the Edge: Social Turf, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Reclaiming Popular Culture, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
Ceremony of Spirit, The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA
Installation Biennial, Insite 94, San Diego, CA
1994
Outside the Frame: Performance and the Object, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH
In the Ring, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY
Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
1992
The Edge of Childhood, Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
The Invention of Childhood, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
Americas, Monasterio de Santa Clara, Seville, Spain
First Invasion: Contemporary Artists of the Caribbean, Galería de la Raza, San Francisco, CA
1990
The Decade Show, Museum of Hispanic Art, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, and The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York, NY
Off-Stage Attitudes: The Visual Arts for Today's Performance Artists, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
1989
Día de los Muertos II: Los Angelitos, Longwood Arts Center, Bronx, NY
1987
The Sculpture Show, Longwood Arts Center, Bronx, NY
1986
Caribbean/African Currents, Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York, NY
1985
Eight Artists, Voluntariado de las Casas Reales, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Awards
2022
Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasure Artist Fellowship
2021
Guggenheim Fellowship
2018
College Art Association, Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement
United States Artist Award
2017
Governor’s Awards for the Arts
2016
Sundra Foundation, Leading Artist: reFORM Project Award
Maryland Institute College of Art, Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree
2011
P.S.122 Shining Star Award
Real Art Ways, Realie Award
Norris Square Neighborhood Organization, Artesano Award
2009
Fleisher Art Memorial Founder’s Award
2008
Elena Diaz-Verson Eminent Scholar in Latin American Studies, Columbus State University, 2008 The Smithsonian Legacy Award for the Visual Arts
Bronx Council on the Arts, Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Achievement Award
School Art League Award
2006
Pew Fellowships in the Arts
2001
Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture
1999
MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
Cal Arts/Alpert Award for Visual Arts
1996
Joan Mitchell Foundation Artist's Fellowship
International Association of Art Critics Award
1998
Legacy Award in the Arts, Smithsonian Latino Center Initiative
New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellowship in Sculpture
1996
Lynn Blumenthal Memorial Fund
1995
New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellowship in Sculpture
1993
Louis Tiffany Comfort Award
Lila Wallace Arts Partners International Artist Program
Rockefeller Foundation Intercultural Film/Video Fellowship
1990
Theater Communications Group & National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1988
Krasner Pollack Foundation Fellowship
National Endowment for the Arts Sculpture Fellowship
1985
New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award
Public Collections
El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, NY
The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
The National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC
The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
The Walker Center for the Arts, Minneapolis, MN
The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Pepón Osorio
El Chandelier, 1988
functional metal and glass chandelier with plastic toys and figurines, glass crystals, and other objects
60 7⁄8 x 42 ins. diam.
154.6 x 106.7 cm diam.
Pepón Osorio
Scene of the Crime (Whose Crime?), 1993
mixed media and video installation
112 x 244 5/8 x 146 3/4 ins.
284.5 x 621.3 x 372.7 cm
Pepón Osorio
No Crying Allowed in the Barbershop (En la barbería no se llora), 1994
mixed media and video installation
Dimensions variable
Pepón Osorio
Badge of Honor, 1995
mixed media and video installation
Dimensions variable
Pepón Osorio
My Beating Heart (Mi Corazón Latiente), 2000 / 2023
mixed media, including: speakers with sound, archival paper, acrylic, and fiberglass
75 x 65 ins.
190.5 x 165.1 cm
Pepón Osorio
ReForm, 2014-17
mixed media and video installation
Dimensions variable
An installation by the Puerto Rican, who is based in Philadelphia, exposes the experiences of five patients within the healthcare system. The project addresses the importance of alternative ways to cope with illness
Below we examine 75 of the most important and exciting Latinx artists, who have had a profound impact on art history and their communities by creating work in which community members can see themselves represented.
Pepón Osorio is known for his provocative, large scale multimedia installations that merge conceptual art and community dynamics.
Pepón Osorio’s installation centers on patients of color experiencing traumatic medical crises.
Even though school is out, an exhibition at P·P·O·W’s second-floor gallery space in Manhattan turns the spotlight onto the arbiters of education — teachers.
Two professions, one predicated on power and the other creation, are at play in Airhead, a group show currently on view at the Lower Manhattan gallery P·P·O·W.
Works from Richard Prince, Matthew Barney, Ghada Amer, and more are on view in a series of new shows.
We asked our staff and contributors to look back on a year in art around the world, from major museum shows to unexpected gems in alternative spaces.
In addition to its impressionist matchup “Manet/Degas,” the Met unveiled Lauren Halsey’s spectacular new rooftop installation. Our critics weigh in on this year’s most thrilling shows.
Pepón Osorio’s beating heart was recently on display in New York, as part of his largest solo exhibition to date at the New Museum. After four decades as an artist, working predominantly as a storyteller in and for tight-knit communities of Latinx and Caribbean, working-class folk, this exhibition, titled “My Beating Heart/Mi Corazón Latiente,” was a triumph.
Groundbreaking installations that feature health, women, and death.
Plus: The return of “Oldboy”; the maximalist visionary Pepón Osorio; the folksinger Iris DeMent; and more.
The Puerto Rican artist emphasizes community in installations crafted from everyday objects
At the New Museum, Pepón Osorio’s exhilarating assemblages and installations hold a mirror up to Latino communities and reflect his experiences in Puerto Rico and New York.
This month: love, beauty, kink, and Purell bottles with works by Pepón Osorio, Kahlil Gibran, Gego, Susan Chen, and others.
The artist is not afraid to be bold with his emotions as he examines family, race and masculinity
Pepón Osorio is not like other artists.
P·P·O·W is pleased to announce the representation of multi-disciplinary artist Pepón Osorio
This season we’re getting a unique chance to reassess certain loved and unloved artists.
Can art depicting empty classrooms shape education policy?
Art Show Captures the Wrenching Effects of Closing a School
