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July 27 – September 10, 2007

The Hebrew Home at Riverdale is pleased to announce its latest exhibition GisMo Girls: Photographs from Miami which features a suite of 10 photographs from the series Majestuousas Princesas by two young, first generation Cuban-American artists based in Florida. Working collaboratively, Jessica Gispert and Crystal Molinary explore their cultural heritage, American values, and challenge conventional notions of beauty and taste.

The work questions social norms with provocative, tongue in cheek humor. Set in the Miami suburbs of their childhood, GisMo pokes fun at America’s fascination with consumerism, leisure, fashion, and body image. Using themselves as primary models, these “larger than life” characters juxtapose images of what is considered socially acceptable with what is considered garish or tacky. It is a world of over-the-top lavishness, crowded with trinkets and glitz, and where the deeply jeweled colors of the Latin culture permeate the photographs.

The artists are both graduates of Florida International University and earned their B.F.A.’s in photography in 2006. Their work has been featured in galleries up and down the East coast. Gispert and Molinary both live and work in Miami, Florida. The exhibition will be on view from July 27 – September 10, 2007. The opening reception will be held on Friday, July 27, 2007 at 3 p.m. in the Elma and Milton A. Gilbert Pavilion.

As a member of the American Association of Museums, the Home is committed to exhibiting contemporary and modern works of art. The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, which houses a collection of 20th century art, is a nonprofit, non-sectarian geriatric center serving more than 3,000 elderly persons through its resources and community service programs. Its 19-acre main campus overlooks the Hudson River at 5901 Palisade Avenue in Riverdale. For further information regarding the exhibition or the Hebrew Home’s art collection, contact the Curator’s Department at (718) 581-1596 or the Public Relations Department at (718) 581-1225.