Artist

Pepón Osorio

born Santurce, Puerto Rico 1955
Also known as
  • Pepon Osorio
  • Benjamin Osorio Encarnación
Born
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Active in
  • New York, New York, United States
Biography

Sculptor and installation artist, born in 1955 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1975, Osorio moved to the South Bronx in New York City, where he enrolled at Lehman College and earned a degree in sociology. Following his graduation, he worked in the child abuse prevention unit of the Human Resources Administration, working primarily with the Latino community. Since 1985 Osorio has participated in visual arts projects that are testimonials to his immediate South Bronx community. He completed an M.A. degree at Columbia University in 1986 and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including grants and fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Lila Wallace Arts Partners International Artist Program.

Latino Art and Culture Bilingual Study Guide (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1996)

Works by this artist (3 items)

Pepón Osorio, El Chandelier, 1988, functional metal and glass chandelier with plastic toys and figurines, glass crystals, and other objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1995.40, © 1988, Pepón Osorio
El Chandelier
Artist
Date1988
functional metal and glass chandelier with plastic toys and figurines, glass crystals, and other objects
Not on view
Pepón Osorio, Las Twines, 1998, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in part through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2022.67.1A-J, © 1998, Pepón Osorio
Las Twines
Artist
Date1998
mixed media
On view
Pepón Osorio, Mangual, 1998, single-channel video, color, silent; 03:25 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in part through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2022.67.2A-B, © 1998, Pepón Osorio
Mangual
Artist
Date1998
single-channel video, color, silent; 03:25 minutes
On view

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 25, 2013–March 2, 2014
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.