August 14, 2004 - October 24, 2004

In response to visitor and Member requests to see more local art, Berks Now is an exhibition program that has been launched to feature the work of local artists, many from Berks County. The third artist to be featured is Yadira Leticia Torres, a third generation Puerto Rican American and 2003 graduate of Moore College of Art & Design. Torres series Matrilineal Reflections, mixed media depicting female figures, will be featured in the auditorium hallway from August 14, 2004 to October 24, 2004.

The next Berks Now artist is Marilyn Fox November 20, 2004 to February 6, 2005. Berks Now, is supported by the Friends of the Reading Museum, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Regular Museum admission is $7 adults and $5 children 4 to 17. Museum hours are Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday 11am to 5pm, Wednesday 11am to 8pm and Sunday Noon to 5pm.

Torres graduated from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts. It was not until her sophomore year in college that she became serious about painting and manifesting her heritage in her artwork. Torres stated, “As a third generation Puerto Rican American I have struggled with the difficulties of straddling my two worlds. That of living, speaking and working as an American while still trying to hold desperately to my cultural roots. The burden of not knowing Spanish has left me with the need to fulfill the expression of my heritage through the language of my work.” While at Moore College, Torres traveled to Venezuela and Mexico, where the culture and art strongly influenced her artwork.

Many of the pieces in Torres collection feature oil paintings of female figures, she describes as “a representation of the strong matriarchs of her family and culture.” The pieces also display many aspects of the Carribean Carnival, such as headdresses and masked faces. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally in numerous group exhibitions, including student shows at Moore College, the Academy of Music Group Show in Meridia, Venezuala, the 61st Annual Exhibition Keisho Art Association, NAOYA Japan, and at the Hispanic Center in Reading, PA. She continues to paint, as well as create artwork for books.