Sophie Rivera (June 1938 – May 22, 2021) was an American artist and photographer of Puerto Rican-American descent.
[1] She was also an early member and instructor of En Foco,[2] a not-for-profit organisation centred on contemporary fine art and photographers of diverse cultures.
Rivera's work included activism and teaching especially in her famous photography, the 1978 series Nuyorican Portraits.
An early member and instructor of En Foco, Rivera later joined their board of advisors.
[6] Rouge et Noir (Red and Black) 1977-1978, included five coloured photographs capturing used tampons in a toilet bowl.
[1] Nuyorican Portraits, 1978, is a collection of 50 black and white photographs of Puerto Rican Americans in her neighbourhood.
Deconstructing the stereotypical American image of Puerto Ricans, the series functioned to embrace individuality and diversity.
[8] Her most famous series, six pieces from the collection were presented at the Yankee Stadium on December 14, 1989, in an exhibition titled Revelations: A Latino Portfolio.
Heresies functioned to create a dialogue between Rivera's work and the audience and build a new perception of female artists.
Held at the Hammer Museum in 2017 and subsequently at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2018, the California exhibition included Rivera's 1977–1978 series Rouge et Noir, while the Brooklyn exhibition additionally included two portraits from her Nuyorican Portraits series.
Showcasing racially diverse artists, the exhibition's summary stated, "The artists featured in Radical Women have made extraordinary contributions to the field of contemporary art, but little scholarly attention has been devoted to situating their work within the social, cultural, and political contexts in which it was made".
Three Women Three Islands: Sophie Rivera, Manhattan, Lilia Fontana, Cuba, Freida Medín Ojeda, Puerto Rico.