Please join us for the YO SOLO Visual Art Opening on Friday July 27th in Room 300 from 6-9pm

Alberto Aguilar: Born in Chicago to parents of Mexican descent. He has three brothers and one sister. Upon receiving his BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) he married Sonia Leticia Guillen. Together they have four children, half of which are girls. Aguilar also received his MFA from SAIC. Currently he is a tenured instructor of studio art at Harold Washington College –one of the City Colleges of Chicago– and co-coordinator of Pedestrian Project –an initiative dedicated to making art accessible to people from all walks of life. Aguilar’s current practice merges his various roles as he navigates through life in an attempt to capture fleeting moments, personal discoveries, and his interaction with others in tangible form. With his family, Aguilar lives near Midway airport–directly under the path of airplanes.

 

Paola Cabal: Instructor of Painting and Drawing, Contemporary Practices (2006) at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Visiting Assistant Professor of Art, DePaul University (2010) BFA, 1998, Carnegie Mellon University; MFA, 2003, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Exhibitions: Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Western Exhibitions Gallery, Chicago; Gallery 400, Chicago; The Halsey Institute, Charleston; The National Academy Museum and School, New York; Columbia University School of the Arts, New York; Gimnasio del Norte, Bogotá, Colombia; Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; The Centre for Personal Development, Pittsburgh Bibliography: The Transforming State  (co-author), New Delhi, Artsi /Religare; Time Out New Delhi; The Daily Constitutional Art Journal; Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art, Berkeley, University of California Press Public Art: Multi-site intervention through  “At The Edge” Gallery 400, Chicago; Public Mural, Centre for Personal Development, Pittsburgh Awards Driehaus Foundation Individual Artist Award, Illinois Arts Council, Carnegie Centennial Award, Honorable Mention National Art and Design Competition for Street Trees

 

Maria Gaspar: Instructor, Sculpture, Contemporary Practices (2009). BFA, 2002, Pratt Institute, NY; MFA, 2009, University of Illinois at Chicago. Exhibitions: Museum of Contemporary Art, National Museum of Mexican Art, Gallery 400, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson; Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest, IL; Esperanza Peace and Justice Gallery, San Antonio. Public Art: City As Site Project, Project Vida, Paderewski School, Chicago. Bibliography: Timeout Chicago. Awards: National Endowment for the Arts; Illinois Arts Council, Sor Juana Young Visionary Award; La Pocha Nostra Residency Award; Union League; Ragdale Friendship Award.

 

Jorge Lucero: Assistant Professor of Art Education at The University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He completed his PhD from The Pennsylvania State University after having taught in the Chicago Public Schools for seven years. Jorge did his undergraduate studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), concentrating in painting and drawing and–during an additional year and half–in art education. He is K-12 art certified in the state of Illinois.

 

Josué Pellot: Born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and resides in Chicago. He received his BFA from the University of Illinois, at Chicago, and his MFA from Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois. He works in various mediums such as painting, screen-printing, video and sculpture. In 2007 Pellot completed a residency with the Fundament Foundation in Tilburg, NL. In 2010 he is scheduled for a solo exhibition in New Castle, England and his first museum solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Caguas, Puerto Rico.

 

Edra Soto (YO SOLO Curator) (b. Puerto Rico 1971) is a Chicago based artist. In 1995 Edra received the Alfonso Arana Fellowship to work in Paris for one year. She attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she obtained her Masters of Fine Arts in 2OOO.

Immediately after, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work has been feature in New American Paintings and her show at Ebersmoore was selected Best Solo Exhibitions of 2010 NewCity Art of Chicago. Soto has lecture at El Museo de Puerto Rico, Harold Washington College and The Art Institute of Chicago among others.

She is a member of the collective ED JR. with Deborah Boardman, Jeroen Nelemans and Ryan Richey. Our upcoming project is a video piece that will be feature at The Chicago Cultural Center as part of the exhibition Sic Transit Gloria Mundi: Industry of the Ordinary a retrospective exhibition by collaborative duo Industry of the Ordinary.

In Chicago, she has exhibited at Roots and Culture, Ebersmoore, Hyde Park Art Center and The Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago among others.

Last summer, Edra completed a two-week residency at Ragdales newly renovated Meadow, granted by the 3Arts Foundation. Also this summer, she lectured at Beta-Local, an international residency program located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Recent presentations include: CoLaboratory with ED JR. and (f)utility curated by Annie Moorse at The Glass Curtain Gallery, Columbia College, Core Values at North Branch Projects, Archival Impulse at UICGallery 400, curated by Lorelei Stewart, LIVING By Example with husband Dan Sullivan, the inaugural exhibition of The Franklin outdoor exhibition space at Northeastern Illinois University Fine Arts Center Gallery.

Upcoming projects include and Afterimage at the Roger Brown Study Collection and Afterimage at the Center of Books and Paper, Columbia College, both projects curated by Dahlia Tulet and Thea Liberty Nichols.