Edra Soto (born 1971, Puerto Rico) is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist, curator, educator, and co-director of the artist-run outdoor project space The Franklin.
Edra Soto | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edra Soto 1971 (age 52–53) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico [BFA]; School of the Art Institute of Chicago [MFA] |
Biography
editEdra Soto was born in Puerto Rico in 1971. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Escuela de Artes Plasticas de Puerto Rico in 1994. After moving to Chicago, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000. She has received several awards, including the Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship (2016)[1] and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Individual Artists Award (2017). She has curated numerous exhibitions, including co-curating Present Standard at the Chicago Cultural Center in 2016.[2] She is a faculty member in the Contemporary Practices Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[3] Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows both nationally and internationally.
The Franklin
editIn 2012, Soto and her husband Dan Sullivan founded The Franklin, an artist-run project space in the backyard of their home in Garfield Park, featuring installations and site-specific work by Chicago and national artists.[4][5]
The Franklin Collection of over 200 artworks by local, national, and international artists is also at the Garfield Park location.[6]
Works
editSoto's ongoing site-specific GRAFT series, begun in 2013, incorporates the geometric designs of iron rejas screens popular throughout Puerto Rico.[7][8] In 2014, Soto and Dan Sullivan were awarded a public art commission from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for the Blue Line Western Station.[9] Their work will be a large-scale installation for the stationhouse exterior.[10]
Edra Soto was an Artist-in-Residence at Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego, California, in 2023.[11] In 2024, Soto received the Joyce Foundation award from the Sculpture Center in Cleveland, Ohio;[12] and was selected by the New York Public Art Fund to present a project in Central Park.[13] Her work was included in the group show Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh;[14] and acquired by the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida.
Exhibitions (selection)
edit- 2015 DOMINODOMINO, with Dan Sullivan, Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York, NY[15]
- 2017 Manual GRAFT, University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal IL[16]
- 2017 OPEN 24 HOURS, Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago[17]
- 2017 Traduttore,Traditore, Gallery 400, Chicago[18]
- 2019 Forgotten Forms, Chicago Cultural Center[19]
- 2019 Cross Currents: Intercambio Cultural, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba and Smart Museum, Chicago (forthcoming)
- 2023 Edra Soto: Graft, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, California[11]
- 2024 Edra Soto: Graft, Central Park (as part of Public Art Fund's exhibition programming), New York[13]
References
edit- ^ "Efroymson Family Fund Awards Millionth Dollar to Contemporary Visual Artists". Central Indiana Community Foundation. 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "City of Chicago: Present Standard". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "esotof". School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "The Franklin". Temporary Art Review. 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Meet Edra Soto of The Franklin in East Garfield and Humboldt Park - Voyage Chicago | Chicago City Guide". 27 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ Soto, Edra. "The Franklin Collection". 3Arts: 3AP – MAKE ART WORK. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ "Grafting Puerto Rican Architecture onto the Lower East Side". Hyperallergic. 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "Review: Edra Soto/Terrain". Newcity Art. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "CTA Selects Your New Blue Contractor for Damen, Western and California station renovations". CTA. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "Public Art on the CTA". CTA. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ a b "Edra Soto: Graft". ICA. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ "Edra Soto with The Sculpture Center". The Joyce Foundation. 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ a b "Edra Soto: Graft". Public Art Fund. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ "Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape". Carnegie Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ "Exhibitions - Morgan Lehman Gallery". www.morganlehmangallery.com. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "Edra Soto | University Galleries - Illinois State". galleries.illinoisstate.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "The Commons Artist Project: Edra Soto: Open 24 Hours". MCA. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "Traduttore, Traditore". Gallery 400. November 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ "City of Chicago: Forgotten Forms". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-23.