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Nykki It All Comes Out In The Wash Ruben Natal San Miguel
  • Art

Ruben Natal-San Miguel: Nature Finds a Way

When
All Day
Where
Wave Hill House
Nature Finds a Way 07
Clockwise from top left: Ruben Natal-San Miguel, “Nykki & Ari (Valentine Trans Twins with Morning Glories)”, 2021; “Maya (Serendipity Tattoo)”, 2022; “The Kiss”, 2019, and “Ivana (Most Hated)”, 2019, on view in “Ruben Natal-San Miguel—Nature Finds a Way” at Wave Hill, 2024. All works courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen.
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Ruben Natal-San Miguel, “Courtney (Forsythia, Spring Fever)”, 2024, on view in “Ruben Natal-San Miguel—Nature Finds a Way” at Wave Hill, 2024. All works courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen.
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Ruben Natal-San Miguel, “Mama (Beautiful Skin)”, 2017, on view in “Ruben Natal-San Miguel—Nature Finds a Way” at Wave Hill, 2024. All works courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen.
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Clockwise from top left: Ruben Natal-San Miguel, “TransAmeRican (Jessie)”, “1969 Stonewall Riots Activist”, 2013; “Bronx (Tattoo)”, 2014; “Mermaid Awaiting Sailors”, 2019, and “Mermaid (Octopus)”, 2018, on view in “Ruben Natal-San Miguel—Nature Finds a Way” at Wave Hill, 2024. All works courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.
Nature Finds a Way 01
Grid, clockwise from top left: Ruben Natal-San Miguel, “TransAmeRican (Jessie)”, “1969 Stonewall Riots Activist”, 2013; “Bronx (Tattoo)”, 2014; “Mermaid Awaiting Sailors”, 2019, and “Mermaid (Octopus)”, 2018. Other works from left to right: Ruben Natal-San Miguel, “Parfaite & Larissa (Birthday)”, 2023; “Souleo”, 2017 and “Ongina (Pink Floral)”, 2017, on view in “Ruben Natal-San Miguel—Nature Finds a Way” at Wave Hill, 2024. All works courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen.
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Left to right: Ruben Natal-San Miguel, “Carrie Mae Weems”, 2022; “Patricia Cronin (LGBTQ Sculpture Monument)”, 2022, and “Jennifer (Grandma’s Mirror)”, 2019, on view in “Ruben Natal-San Miguel—Nature Finds a Way” at Wave Hill, 2024. All works courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen.

Since the cataclysmic events of September 11, 2001, Ruben Natal-San Miguel has committed his photographic lens to the resilience of cultural identity and human connection in the dense urban environment of New York City. The exhibition Nature Finds a Way brings together portraits, with a particular focus on the Bronx, showcasing individuals in both real and synthetic nature. Here, tropical murals, artificial plants and floral prints also find a way to be seen, bringing a semblance of the natural environment into the picture. Through these images, Natal-San Miguel challenges aesthetic and cultural norms by foregrounding the diverse tapestry of urban life, and how city dwellers both seek and are affected by nature in their lives.
 

Ruben Natal-San Miguel: Nature Finds a Way is organized by Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, Curator of Visual Arts, with Gabriel de Guzman, Director of Arts and Chief Curator; and Afriti Bankwalla, Curatorial Administrative Assistant

Wave Hill House is wheelchair-accessible. There is an accessible, ground-level entrance at the front of the building with a power-assist door. The restroom on the ground level is all-gender and ADA-compliant. Additional ADA-compliant restrooms are available on the lower level, which can be accessed by elevator.

  • Ruben Natal-San Miguel

    Natal san miguel

    Ruben Natal-San Miguel

    Natal-San Miguel's photographs are in the permanent collections of esteemed institutions including El Museo del Barrio, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Studio Museum in Harlem, School of Visual Arts, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, The Center for Photography at Woodstock and Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, all in NY; The Contemporary Collection of the Mint Museum in Charlotte and North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC.; Fitchburg Museum of Art, Provincetown Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Griffin

    Museum of Photography, MA, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Kruizenga Art Museum at Hope College, MI, and Newark Museum of Art, NJ.

    Learn more about the artist on Instagram @realrubennatalsanmiguel

    Photo: Ruben Natal-San Miguel. Courtesy American Society Media Photographers (ASMP) New York Chapter.

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