Iruka Maria Toro
born 1983, Puerto Rico
Latin American Contemporary Art (LaCa) Projects is pleased to present Strike a Match to Hear My Sound, Cristina Toro’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. This new body of work addresses natural and supernatural phenomena related to fire and light. The inspiration for these works began in Toro’s kitchen, where she experienced the phenomenon of luminous plasma causing ionization of air particles and creating a glowing light, or Saint Elmo’s Fire. This exhibition shares a number of examples related to the various properties of light, real and imagined, that come from the sun and the moon in relationship to one’s body. This work is not only influenced by Toro’s own research into rituals surrounding warmth, light and nourishment, but also energy and luminosity: ritual bonfires, polaroids, candles inside of kettles, phosphorescence, human energy fields, and by the history of related images.
Cristina Toro was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and has been creating and exhibiting her work on a wide scale for over ten years. During this time she has received many honors, including a grant from the New York Council for the Arts, and the prestigious Painting Fellowship from The New York Foundation of the Arts. She has had exhibitions in New York, Boston, Tokyo, and Mexico. Her work is in the collections of the Dana Farber Institute, HPFRANCE Tokyo, The Mint Museum in Charlotte, and the United States Art in Embassies Program. She lives and works in upstate New York.
By Catherine M. Austin
The mesmerizing new work of Cristina Toro is on view at LaCa Projects. Her exhibition, 'Strike a Match to Hear My Sound', is up through April 7, 2017. Pictures do not come close to doing these brilliant works justice. The indescribable vibrant colors, rhythmic imagery, and impressive scale can only be fully appreciated in person.