When you step into the Riverfront Art Gallery at the Riverfront Library in Yonkers you are surrounded by images that express cultures from the Caribbean, and its roots in colonialization.
The new exhibit, which opened this month, is called "Across Imaginary Boundaries."
Among the artwork, are four paintings by Cuban-American artist Carlos Mateu.
One of them is a four-panel canvas titled "My Fantastic Jungle."
"My portrait in that piece representing myself in the late 1800s in the middle of independence against Spain," said Mateu. "What would be my role as a mix race if i was slave at that time, if I was a free man."
His style is pop geometric, which utilizes straight lines illustrated in another painting titled "The Mailbox," which contains imagery that relates to the dreams and barriers some Latino immigrants face coming into the United States at the southern border.
"During that period of time somebody was planning to build the tallest wall to not let anyone into this country," said Mateu. "I started to sketch the mailbox, and I thought what if when you get to the border there is not a wall, there is mailbox."
Art gallery curator Haifa Bint-Kadi said the selection of art in the exhibit focuses on themes that include ancestor stories, current issues and culture.
"I really wanted to make this a celebratory space of the Caribbean culture and the art that it brings to the United States," she said.
The exhibit will run through December 14th, admission is free.
Artist Lisa Gathright-Miller describes inspiration for her painting titled “Sheila” currently on display at the Riverfront Art Gallery.
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