Bushwick, New York
Group Exhibition
Herencia Viviente: Living Inheritance
TransmitterAnacelis Martinez, Evelyn Martinez, Katherine "Kat" Miranda, Kai Velázquez, Lupita Romero, Maribel Marmolejo Reyes Transmitter is pleased to present Herencia Viviente: Living Inheritance a group exhibition featuring Anacelis Martinez, Evelyn Martinez, Katherine “Kat” Miranda, Kai Velázquez, Lupita Romero, and Maribel Marmolejo Reyes, organized by guest curator Jas Pinturas. The artists included in Herencia Viviente: Living Inheritance resist the status quo and form records of preservation through their framing and particular utilization of collage, photography, and film. The showcased artworks function as a type of community care; one that uplifts the lives and labor of women - a window of reality too often undervalued or overlooked. This group of artists embrace their heritage, and knowledge that has passed down over decades, while simultaneously drawing connections to generational obstacles women continue to face. Through lived experience, women have long carried the responsibility of preserving family traditions and memorializing communal culture. Issues such as migration – whether by choice, necessity, or force – have deeply shaped these roles. Women serve as the backbone for both their original and new communities, requiring them to navigate unfamiliar systems while holding tight to cultural continuity. Globally and historically, the daily lives of working women are shaped by intersecting forms of oppression—rooted in their roles as laborers within a capitalist society and their confinement to gender roles under a patriarchal system. In our current political moment, the act of preserving and archiving these histories feels especially urgent. It makes clear that many of the same issues such as childcare, healthcare, violence, and more, still affect women today. Herencia Viviente: Living Inheritance challenges dominant narratives of an outdated American Dream. The works uplift the voices, presence, struggles, and knowledge of working women. Together, they construct a visual archive that underscores the political power of storytelling and collective survival. Anacelis Martinez honors the matriarchal figures in her family through photographs and a sculptural house inspired by her grandmother’s adobe home in Mexico. Her work honors the range of labor the women in her family take on: from full-time teachers to mothers. Martinez uses multimedia materials to reclaim inherited matrilineal strength and caregiving. Approaching collage as both material and conceptual layering (of images, text, history, and time), Katherine "Kat" Miranda incorporates images they associate with domestic patterns. Finding inspiration from their grandparents’ home and Bronx neighborhood. They are particularly interested in the innate way familial and communal narratives are connected to larger ancestral legacies. By tying family images to temporally and culturally specific items, they transform their collages into ancestral and future icons worthy of recognition and respect, free from tragic, hopeless narratives. Kai Velázquez’s work explores grief and healing through cyanotype and inkjet printing, focusing on the experiences of working-class Indigenous women. In collaboration with a matriarch from Guerrero, the viewer is transported to church basements, panteónes, and quiet domestic rituals led by women. Through layered imagery and botanicals, Velazquez uses the nonlinearity of collage to reflect how grief lives in the body and everyday life. Flowers – like white roses for an ofrenda or blooming bougainvilleas in a grandmother’s garden – become symbols of care and resilience. Lupita Romero’s The Surrealism of Being Illegal breaks down her experience growing up undocumented. The work reflects on the myth of the American Dream and the psychological impact of immigration policies on identity, relationships, and daily life. Using collage as means to preserve and uplift a sense of self amongst the imposed analysis of US policies such as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Romero poetically works with handmade paper, made from her immigration documents, and incorporates dried flowers collected in her home of New York City, as a personal way of reflecting her connection to her environment. Maribel Marmolejo Reyes assembles archival footage from Mexico and Brooklyn to present Maria, an experimental documentary that centers the labor of mothers within the family nucleus.The film serves as a tribute, one that engages with themes of sacrifice, joy, grief, and the emotional labor of caretaking. Our gaze is captivated by 100 Women Of Color, where Evelyn Martinez challenges the limits and interpretations of landscape and portrait photography. Martinez is determined to create a space where women of color are cared for and valued; she reimagines portraiture as a site of empowerment and presence. Where feminine bodies are interconnected and matriarchal connections are forged with intense gazes. With deliberate care and intention, each image captures, uplifts, and reveals the essence of the women portrayed. Anacelis Martinez (she/her) is a Mexican-American interdisciplinary artist and educator based in New York. Her work is shaped by literature, cultural heritage, lived and work experiences, religion, and political themes. Recent pieces center family, motherhood, and the concept of “baby fever,” explored through a range of media. Martinez often paints on a large scale, drawn to the immersive and vulnerable nature of the experience. She recently contributed to a mural focused on U.S. childhood arrivals in Brooklyn, New York—a project that later expanded to Fresno, California. Through her practice, Martinez is committed to making bold statements and raising awareness about topics that may be difficult or uncomfortable to address. Her work invites dialogue between the piece and the viewer, creating space for reflection and expanding perspectives. Evelyn Martinez (she/her) is a Mexican-American portrait photographer, creative strategy consultant, and jewelry artist born and raised in The Bronx. Her visual work is rooted in themes of joy, cultural richness, and intergenerational connection, celebrating people of all backgrounds with warmth and authenticity. Evelyn’s artistry affirms that at the heart of powerful art lies the enduring legacy of human connection. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Latina/o Studies from Mount Holyoke College. In 2017, she launched “100 Women of Color”, a powerful portrait series that catalyzed her creative path and solidified her presence in the arts. Her work has been featured by Getty Images, Telemundo, Remezcla, Edible Bronx, Adobe Express, Latino Rebels Radio, and more. Her photography has also served civic and educational campaigns, including projects for the U.S. Census and New York State trainings. Evelyn describes her approach with this guiding belief: “Anyone can take your photograph, but not everyone will take the time and care to truly witness you.” Katherine “Kat” Miranda (they/he) is a Latinx, non-binary multidisciplinary artist born, raised and based in the Bronx. Utilizing objects collected from their family, community and the Earth, Miranda creates ancestral images and artifacts that honor their familial, communal and ancestral histories. Their belief that our histories hold the key to reimagining our futures acts as a constant guide in their practice. Taking part in several fellowships over the years from the Van Lier Fellowship with Wave Hill (2021) to the AIM Fellowship with the Bronx Museum (2022) to the Create Change Fellowship with The Laundromat Project (2023) they have constantly endeavored to learn, document and preserve their family’s stories - reimagining them into alternative worlds beyond the reigns of colonialism. Their work has been exhibited in places such as The Bronx Museum, Bronx Council of the Arts, BronxArtSpace, The Point CDC, Baad! and New Jersey City University. Miranda has also been featured on News 12, BronxNet, NBC New York, Pix 11 News and The New York Times. Kai Velázquez (they/them) is a writer and photographer born & raised in Astoria, Queens. Through digital and alternative photography, they document their friendships, intimate family celebrations, and cultural traditions. Their work focuses on weaving personal moments such as love, grief, and memory with collective migration histories. Kai’s artistic practice is deeply inspired by documentary photographers in the Bronx and across NYC. In 2023, Kai joined as a photography student at ICP at The Point. In 2024, Kai exhibited their work in Barretto Point Park for the Photoville exhibit, “ICP at The Point: Our Stories, Our Light”. Currently, they volunteer as a Teaching Assistant at the ICP and ICP The Point. Lupita Romero (she/her/they/them) is a visual artist who aims to depict emotions, memory, identity, and community. Her work explores color and light, and landscapes both emotional and earthly. She was born in Mexico on December 12, 1991. She migrated to New York City in 2001 and was raised in Queens. She earned her Associates Degree in Latin American Studies from LaGuardia Community College. She is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Studio Arts from Hunter College. Maribel Marmolejo Reyes (she/her) is a Brooklyn based documentarian, filmmaker, and editor. Raised in a Mexican household, she discovered early on that documentation and archiving were powerful tools for observing and understanding the realities of her community and environment. Her work takes an observational approach, exploring themes of loss, family, and the Mexican experience in New York City. Through film and archival practice, Maribel highlights the everyday lives and struggles of working class communities, paying close attention to the systems that shape and often fail them but also highlighting the joy and strength that communities offer. She is also committed to making filmmaking an accessible practice, particularly among youth. Jas Pinturas (she/they) is a visual artist, educator, and cultural advocate from Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Her work focuses on cultural identity and addresses the social-political issues affecting different labor sectors in New York City. Jas earned her BFA in Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2018. In 2021, she was awarded the City Artist Corps Grant. With this grant, she curated “Behind Closed Doors,” an exhibition addressing the emotional impact of COVID-19 on communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic due to systemic health and social inequities. In 2023 the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded Jas the Creative Equations Fund: Justice, Equity, Sustainability + Performing Arts for her performance and cultural exchange work with the dance troupe, Tecuanes Quetzalcoatl. Jas has exhibited her work in various spaces, such as the Museum at FIT, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, and Gowanus Open Studios. Currently, she works as a Teaching Artist, providing free workshops with community organizations such as Plaza Proletaria, Artists Alliance Inc., and the NARS Foundation.