Interdisciplinary Artist
Javier Enrique is a Boricua interdisciplinary artist, journalist, and writer based in NYC and the Caribbean, currently focusing on photography, text, and installation. His work explores cultural amnesia and reflective narratives about religious fanaticism, machismo, and colonial culture. He received his master's degree in public relations from NYU.Javier began his documentary work in 2016 as a United States Marine Corps unit photographer, documenting NATO exercises throughout the American, Asian, and European continents. As a freelance documentary photographer and writer, Javier has worked with organizations including BBC, Princeton University, El Nuevo Día, and Smithsonian Magazine, focusing on topics like food autonomy, cultural trauma, and traditional/native art techniques, having his recent photo essay, Survived by Few, published as the cover story for Smithsonian Magazine's June 2023 issue.
In 2021, Javier became interested in self-portraiture and installation, balancing objects and narrative. In his ongoing project, La Jaula, he's been utilizing elements symbolic of Christianity to create altars and objects to explore their connection to holiness, divinity and how they affect/influence perspectives on self-liberation.
Javier is an artist-in-residence of the 2024 Bed Stuy Arts Residency and a writer-in-residence of the Woodward Residency. In 2023, he participated in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Arts Center Residency and Center Review Santa Fe and held his debut solo exhibition at Puerto Rico's National Library and Archive. His work has been exhibited in Puerto Rico, New York, New Jersey, and D.C. and in online publications such as Feature Shoot, Contemporary and América Latina, and Lenscratch.
EDUCATION
New York University 2020-2022
M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communications, GPA: 3.80
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón 2017-2020
Bachelor of Arts in Communications - Public Relations Major, GPA: 3.70
RESIDENCIES & OPPORTUNITIES
Woodward Residency, Queens, NY, 2024
Bed Stuy Art Residency, Brooklyn, New York, 2024
Artist-in-Residence, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, NY, 2023
Portfolio Review, Review Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2023
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Survived by Few, National Archive and Library of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, 2023
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
At Summers End, 17 Frost Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2023
Photo Finish, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, San Juan, PR, 2018, 2019, 2023, Curated by Nitza Luna, department director.
Legacy, The Community Collective Photography Showcase, Washington, 2023, curated by Jarrett Hendrix, artist
Puerto Rico Disaster Relief Benefit Exhibition, 2022, curated by Joshua Echevarria, artist.
Sick Architecture, CIVA, Brussels, Belgium, 2022, Curated by Angela Brown.
Global Brand Convergence, online, 2022 International Communications Experience curated by Jackeline Strayer and Jay Soo.
PUBLICATIONS
BBC, Puerto Rico’s First JBF Award Winning Chef (Cocina al Fondo), June 2023
Smithsonian Magazine, Survived by Few, Photo-essay + Cover of Magazine, June 2023
Modern Renaissance Magazine, Artist Feature, April and Spring Issue, April 2023
El Adoquín Times, Article on Michelin Star Restaurant Casa Mono, April 2023
Booooooom, Photography Category Submission, February 2023
The Purposeful Mayonnaise, Volume 2 Issue 5, February 2023
Lux, Volume 3 Issue 1: Solitude, February 2023
Pearl Press, “Self-portrait,” Issue No. 13 and 14, October - November 2022
(Curated by: Delilah Twersky, artist)
COMMISSIONS
BBC, Puerto Rico’s First JBF Award Winning Chef (Cocina al Fondo), June 2023
El Adoquín Times, Puerto Rican Parade, June 2023
Survived by Few, Smithsonian Magazine, Photo-essay, 2022
Immunocompromised Architecture: Henry Klumb and the Puerto Rican Home, Documentary Short Film and
photographs, 2022. Commissioned by the Art and Archeology Department, Princeton University for Angela
Brown’s curatorial project.
Pride: Surviving the Colony, Commissioned by Revista Étnica, San Juan, Puerto Rico 2021
INTERVIEWS
Lenscratch, Javier Piñero: La Jaula, January 2024
El Nuevo Día, Javier Piñero le da visibilidad a prácticas artesanales, November 2023
Contemporary and América Latina, Survived by Few, November 2023
Feature Shoot, How a Photographer’s First Commission Landed Him the Cover of Smithsonian Magazine, June 2023