<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>June 12 - July 25, 2015 in the Lorenzo Homar Gallery</strong></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Opening Reception June 12</strong></p>

As part of a citywide celebration of the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the Reminder Day demonstrations, <a href="http://www.galaei.org/">GALAEI </a>and Taller Puertorriqueño are pleased to present in June, <strong>En Blanco y Negro: Gay &amp; Boricua</strong>, an exhibition of the artwork of José Luis Cortés.

[caption id="attachment_3706" align="alignleft" width="162"]<img class=" wp-image-3706" src="http://tallerpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Stairway-to-Eros-257x300.jpg" alt="José Luis Cortés, Stairway to Eros (1996)" width="162" height="189" /> José Luis Cortés,<br />"Stairway to Eros" (1996), Gouache on newsprint[/caption]

José Luis Cortés is a native Philadelphian who's known for his artwork inspired by his time in New York City in the early 1990’s.  Cortés’ very personal work reflects the underbelly of gay life – documenting a life on the fringes of society:  of sex workers, addiction, and of a changing landscape.   He is an artist who, with his work, validates his world and voices his identity as both a gay man and as a Puerto Rican.

Cortés’ work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country as well as in Europe. His work has been reviewed in <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>Art in America</em>, <em>Out Magazine</em> and many other publications. You can see more of his work at the <a href="http://www.visualaids.org/artists/detail/jose-luis-cortes">Visual AIDS Online Registry</a>, and learn more about him at <a href="http://joselcortes.blogspot.com/">joselcortes.blogspot.com</a>.

Cortés is also a founding member of The Archive Project, and was included in the landmark exhibition<em>, The First Ten</em> (1995), which showcased the work of artists living with HIV. Currently he works with urban youth in Puerto Rico, teaching them about art, and how it can become a part of their daily lives. In 2013, Cortés participated in VIAL, an exhibition at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR).  The exhibition in Taller Puertorriqueño will be his first in Philadelphia.

In June, as part of the exhibition, he will be conducting an outreach workshop with students from GALAEI and Taller’s youth programs.  Following the exhibition, on June 20<sup>th</sup> at 3PM, there will be a panel discussion at Taller Puertorriqueño on gay and Latino issues led by the writer and AIDS activist

For more information on the panel go to: <a href="http://tallerpr.org/event/gay-latino-panel-discussion">http://tallerpr.org/event/gay-latino-panel-discussion</a>

For more information on the 50th anniversary of the Reminder Day demonstrations go to <a href="http://waygay.org/reminder2015">http://waygay.org/reminder2015</a>.

<strong>Learn more about the artist and exhibition <a href="http://tallerpr.org/2015/06/02/en-blanco-y-negro-gay-boricua/">here</a></strong>.

This exhibition and cycle are supported by grants from PECO and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

<em>Photograph</em>

<strong><em>José Luis Cortés</em></strong>
<em>ADÁL, 2014</em>

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2572" src="http://tallerpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Andy-Peco-Logos.jpg" alt="Andy &amp; Peco Logos" width="465" height="85" />