Exhibition: Leftovers by Alexis Marie Montoya

Exhibition Dates: March 21 - August 16, 2024

Opening Celebration: Thursday, March 21 from 5:30-8:00pm

With DJ: Uptown Vinyl Supreme

Casita Maria presents the solo exhibition leftovers by Bronx-based Puerto Rican and Peruvian multidisciplinary artist and food writer Alexis Marie Montoya. The exhibition features a series of 16 artworks collaging imagery from food, fashion and lifestyle magazines to explore the connection between food, culture and Latinx identity.

The exhibition leftovers by Alexis Marie Montoya, includes 16 collage artworks that honor identity and the intersection between food and culture in the Bronx and Latinx communities. The title is multi-layered referring to the food that remains after we cook a meal, the artist’s process of reusing materials found in the home and the charged emotions of homesickness experienced during and post-pandemic surrounding food traditions and family gatherings. In the Gallery, the work will be juxtaposed into two spaces: the kitchen and the family (domestic space) with images of restaurants and bodegas (public space). To invoke feelings of nostalgia in the viewer and represent cultural pride, the artist uses imagery of common Latinx ingredients like Sazón and comfort food such as arroz con gandules. Montoya’s work is influenced by impressionist painter Francisco Oller (Puerto Rican, 1833–1917). Oller’s painting, The Wake, 1893, is an authentic depiction of a celebration of life for a child and the inspiration for Montoya’s Pasteles, 2024. In this piece, Montoya celebrates the tradition of making Puerto Rican pasteles during the holidays as a family. As a whole, the exhibition journeys from images of hope created during the pandemic to depictions of celebrating family traditions in person post-pandemic to provide comfort to her Bronx Community. 

The exhibition also furthers the Gallery’s role as a teaching tool. This year, educational programs will focus on new ways to learn to express and celebrate oneself through the arts while exploring the theme of food, culture and identity. Montoya’s work, which is informed by art history, pop culture, and her personal narrative is the perfect vehicle to achieve this goal.

Funding for leftovers is provided by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs through the Cultural Development Fund.