Vecinos

Charlie James Gallery is pleased to present Vecinos, an exhibition by the iconic sculptor Rigoberto Torres. The works on view span over forty years and encompass a range of figures and sizes that together capture the artist's vibrant and evolving Bronx community. Torres's attentiveness to the particularities of the individual and the ways in which collections of small details come together to create a unique identity renders these works a collective portrait that constitutes a prolonged and tender act of care. Torres's sculptures reflect the faces of his friends and neighbors and become monuments to the resilience of the diasporic community of his longtime home. Born in Puerto Rico, Torres moved to the Bronx as a small child and would remain there for much of his career. At a young age, he began a collaborative artistic relationship with John Ahearn, with whom he later shared a studio and would often set up live casting sessions on city sidewalks. Working both together and separately, Torres and Ahearn produced a body of work that reflects the lively character of the Bronx through its diverse inhabitants. Torres brings a vibrant, colorful sensibility to his figures that has roots in his early experience in his uncle's workshop making cast religious statuary. Often originally displayed on the outside of buildings in the neighborhood, Torres's wall-based busts elevate everyday people to a place of modern-day veneration and monumentality. A signature of Torres's works is their dynamic sense of movement and scale. A centerpiece of the exhibition is Fortune Teller (1995), a large work that places the viewer on the receiving end of the mystic's table, her expressive hands and long nails hovering above a glowing crystal ball. The life casting process can last for an extended period of time, a period that fosters an intimacy between artist and subject that shines through in the work. "Getting to know someone truly takes time, and each person I have cast becomes part of my family, holding a special place in my heart," he explained. Here, the direct encounter is enhanced by the figure's angled posture, as if she is leaning forward to impart a juicy twist of fate. Other figures give a wider sense of the characters who populate the neighborhood. The fireman, the mother and child, the president of the local hangout; each has their place in a thriving community, each holds a small piece of the collective spirit that makes a place what it is. Torres's work speaks to a resilience of spirit, honoring the lives of everyday people and inviting the viewer into communion with their likenesses – when hung at eye level, the figures and viewers intermingle and entering the gallery can feel like walking into a party in medias res. In more recent works, Torres turns his eye to a community of performers from his current home in Florida. Works such as Jerriel Juggles the Pins (2026) and Jenny on Tightrope (2025) stretch the frame of his sculptural gaze beyond the figure to incorporate the tools of their trade, be they colorful juggling pins, a tautly stretched slackline, or a unicycle. These later works accentuate the artist's interest in exaggerated postures and perspectives, their motion is suspended yet they still feel as if they may leap from the wall at any moment. Whether depicting the performers of Florida or the Puerto Rican diaspora of the Bronx, Torres immortalizes the unique figures of his community, affirming the value of each individual within it.