EDRA SOTO: la sombra que te cobija / the shadow that shelters you
Opening Sunday July 20th, 1-3 PM, with artist talk and music by Unidos Latin Jazz
Liberty and Renwick Streets, South/East corner, Newburgh, NY 12550
On view through Summer 2026 (TBA)
STRONGROOM is pleased to present Edra Soto: la sombra que te cobija / the shadow that shelters you, opening on the corner of Liberty and Renwick Streets in Newburgh, NY on Sunday July 20th, 2025.
la sombra que te cobija / the shadow that shelters you is part of the artist’s ongoing investigations into the transplantation of cultural symbols, alluding to Puerto Rican architectural vernacular including rejas (iron screens) that have become synonymous with the porches of the working class of the archipelago.
The title was inspired by the saying “He who leans against a good tree finds good shade,” which appears in the novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. The phrase helps define the power relationship between Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho. While Sancho benefits from his loyalty to his master in the potential for power, he is also integral as the voice of reason and guidance to Quixote as he exhibits irrational and romantic missteps. In its use here, Edra considers a wider critical interpretation of this proverb and its references to power and conquest, and a shared, culturally-shaped knowledge of colonial history.
The pattern used in la sombra que te cobija is adapted from the mframadan, a West African Adinkra symbol that means “wind-resistant house.” Edra’s use of this symbol in her work provides a heightened emotional message of the resilience and courage required when faced with challenges, in this case a metaphor for building a life in a new place. Edra channels her own migratory experience in this way, reflecting upon transplanted identities and offering signs of home in an uplifting practice that inspires hope, fortitude, and empowerment in communities.
Set on a vacant lot in the City of Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, la sombra que te cobija reclaims this space as a temporary park and place for gathering and personal reflection. As the site of colonial history on the Hudson River, and a place of continued growth and change shaped largely by its diverse immigrant communities, Newburgh is an especially poignant location for Edra’s work. By inviting viewers to enter the work, one can re-imagine urban space and contemplate its cross-cultural dynamics. Peering through the perforated panels, we can empathize with tensions between inclusion and exclusion, and the history of constructed social orders.
“Through details, large and small, I weave together the visual language of these cultures, histories, and experiences that shape the Puerto Rican cultural memory.” - Edra Soto
Accompanying la sombra que te cobija is a publication with an original essay by Sofia Reeser del Rio, Associate Director of Programs and Curator of The Clemente in NYC, and poetry by Silvina Lopes Medin.
On Sunday July 20th, there will be an artist talk by Edra Soto on the occasion of Upstate Art Weekend, accompanied by local musicians Unidos Latin Jazz. The event runs from 1-3pm with the artist talk around 2pm.
Edra Soto (b. 1971) is a Puerto Rican-born artist, educator, and co-director of outdoor project space The Franklin. Soto instigates meaningful, relevant, and often difficult conversations surrounding socioeconomic and cultural oppression, erasure of history, and loss of cultural knowledge. Having grown up in Puerto Rico, and now immersed in her Chicago community, the artist has evolved to raise questions through her work about constructed social orders, diasporic identity, and the legacy of colonialism.
This work is concurrent with Edra's Public Art Fund commission, Graft, currently on view in Central Park's Doris C. Freedman Plaza; a multi-part exhibition with the Sculpture Center in Cleveland; and another version of la sombra que te cobija on the Bentway in Toronto. Other recent public installations have included Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Millenium Park, Chicago O’Hare Airport, and Boston Public Art Triennial. Her work is in the collections of institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Pérez Art Museum Miami; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico; Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
la sombra que te cobija / the shadow that shelters you by Edra Soto is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Structural Design by Wyatt Mitchell, Navillus Woodworks
Fabrication by FABHAUS
Graphic Design by Scott Kelly
Special thanks to Charlotte Lovschal, Chris Cooney, Erik Cooney, and Sisha Ortuzar.
