Ruben Natal-San Miguel says this exhibit of photographs, Women R Beautiful, is “a way to have people understand otherness and other beauty…” The photographs may call to mind the work of 20th century photographer Garry Winogrand’s “Women Are Beautiful” but Natal-San Miguel’s photographs embody a different gaze, a different perspective of different women, allowing the viewer to see and be affected by his subjects in a new way.
Capturing vibrant portraits of figures from different subcultures throughout New York City, Ruben Natal-San Miguel aims to overcome the voyeuristic elements of documentary photography with his captivating photographs dealing with themes including identity and socio-political issues. In addition to his career as an artist, Natal-San Miguel is recognized for his work as a successful architect, curator, creative director, and critic. Natal-San Miguel has exhibited his work at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the African American Museum of Philadelphia. His photographs belong in the permanent collections of El Museo Del Barrio in NYC, The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC., The Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY, The Contemporary Collection of the Mint Museum Charlotte, North Carolina, The Bronx Museum for the Arts, School of Visual Arts, NYC, The Fitchburg Museum of Art, Massachusetts, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, The Studio Museum of Harlem, The Museum of The City of NY, The NY Transit Museum, The Provincetown Art Museum and Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA.
Ruben Natal-San Miguel : Expanding The Pantheon : Women R Beautiful !
January 10 – February 6, 2022
Vassar College Museum
Palmer Gallery, College Center
124 Raymond Avenue
Poughkeepsie, New York 12604
https://www.vassar.edu/news/events/2022/modfest-2022-women-r-beautiful
