National Park and Street Photography Exhibits Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Xiomaro, an internationally exhibited photographer, is showcasing two new exhibits for Hispanic Heritage Month and continuing through the new year.

“Xiomaro’s Street Haunting” presents 16 candid photographs that explore the gritty, kinetic swirl of energy and diversity in New York City. The exhibit was inspired by Virginia Woolf’s 1927 essay, “Street Haunting,” a literary sketch about the ordinary and transient scenes of daily life. In Xiomaro’s photographs, dramatic, weird, and ghostly moments are captured. Despite the hallucinatory feel, the images were not manipulated with Photoshop or filters.

Xiomaro’s solo exhibition is presented in the Starlight Gallery at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) as part of a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration with concerts by the Gypsy Kings, the Broadway stars of “Hamilton,” and Disney’s “Coco” live-to-film screening. The artist, of Cuban-Puerto Rican descent, notes that his “Street Haunting” exhibit also overlaps with Halloween, the Mexican community’s anticipation of The Day of the Dead, and diminishing daylight as we turn back the clocks. “So I thought it was fitting to select my darker street photographs for the show.”

The Gallery is open to ticket holders prior to shows, during intermission, by appointment, and every Tuesday afternoon from noon to 2:00 pm. MPAC is located at 100 South Street, Morristown, New Jersey, and the exhibition is on view from October 16 to November 28, 2023. Details are posted at www.xiomaro.com/mpac.html.

“Xiomaro’s GIANT Portfolio” presents 43 large-scale photographs revealing the breadth and scope of his career. The collection includes his many National Park Service commissions and his independent personal work.

National Park photographs offer rare views of historic rooms, sites, and artifacts of iconic American political leaders and cultural figures. Landscape and wildlife images provide an organic counterpoint. Personal work includes street photography capturing the daily lives playing out in a variety of ephemeral scenes. Melancholic images suggest alienation and loneliness in a city of millions, contrasted with personal interactions of joy, wonder, and creativity.

The exhibition is presented in the Atrium Gallery’s 4th floor main room, hallway, and elevator lobby. The gallery is within the Morris County Administration and Records Building at 10 Court Street, Morristown, New Jersey, which has an airy layout described as a “square Guggenheim.” The show opens with a free public reception within the larger “Mystery, Memory & Magic” exhibition on September 28, 2023 (6:00 pm to 8:00 pm) and remains on view until January 9, 2024. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Thursdays open until 7:30 pm. Details are posted at www.xiomaro.com/atrium.html.

For the past decade, Xiomaro (SEE-oh-MAH-ro) has been commissioned by the National Park Service to create photographic works of important architecture, environments, and collections to raise awareness of their history and beauty while his street photography documents “future history." Harvard University, Morris Museum, and many institutions in the U.S., England, Scotland, and Italy have exhibited and collected his work. Xiomaro is a frequent guest on ABC, CBS, and News 12 television programs and his work has been reported by the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. Documentaries by PBS and Fox Nation have featured him and his art. Xiomaro has authored a book of his images released by Arcadia Publishing with a foreword written by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman. Before overcoming cancer and pursuing photography, Xiomaro represented and managed celebrity recording artists such as Village People and Lisa Lisa. As a musician, one of his songs reached the Top 40 of American Idol Underground. More information about the artist is posted at his website: www.xiomaro.com/bio.html.