the place of dwelling | NADA
Edra Soto at NADA, New York
For its presentation, Morgan Lehman Gallery presents a selection of Soto’s latest works that expand her engagement with architectural language and social practice. These works draw from the intricate wrought iron patterns found throughout Puerto Rico—decorative yet functional designs that subtly reflect histories of colonization, migration, and resistance. Soto renders these motifs in painted Sintra, a material that allows for formal precision and a striking visual flatness, offering a contemporary evolution of her long-running “GRAFT” series.
Embedded within the large-scale sculptural panels are signature viewfinders—peephole-like openings that house photographic fragments captured by Soto. These intimate snapshots of vernacular architecture, domestic life, and cultural iconography create layered portals into personal and collective memory. By merging the language of residential design with visual storytelling, Soto invites viewers to navigate the tensions between public and private space, between abstraction and documentation, and between presence and longing. The works on view reframe ornament as a lens for critical reflection—an architectural trace of identity and inheritance.