National Hispanic American Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. What better time than now to check in with Ward 6’s own Hector Torres, one of DC’s leading Latino artists. Among his many roles promoting Latino artists, he serves on the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is also the Arts Education chair.
This fall, Torres curated the “Celebrando Nuestra Identidad Art” exhibit now showing in The Ven at Embassy Row, a Dupont Circle hotel located at 2015 Massachusetts Ave. NW. I visited with Torres at the opening, a night filled with music and dancing. The welcoming exhibit space is located on the hotel’s lower level. The energy and joy of artwork by 10 local Hispanic artists, including Torres’ own paintings, drew me into the gallery. The exhibit will be on display through Oct. 31 and is well worth a visit.
Torres has worked on his art even during a 49-year career in the hospitality industry. He served as the vice president of Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters and at Capital Hotels and Suites. Now retired, he devotes even more time to being a working artist.
Torres is thrilled to share his work along with other Hispanic artists in the DMV area. He notes that “by showing the diverse work, it reflects the complexity and breadth of the artists’ collective identity.” His work in the show features paintings of places he has lived, even going back to his roots in the Bronx of New York City. In fact, his first-ever art show happened at the Bronx Courthouse.
Given his Puerto Rican heritage, the use of vibrant colors is in his DNA. “Many Latino artists are known for the vibrancy of their art, but the use of color is not just a Hispanic quality, as often color is seen in other ethnic artists,” notes Torres, “I am thinking about the bright colors in Moroccan, Caribbean and African art as examples.” 
Torres is that rare artist who combines old school traditions and a deep immersion in today’s art world. He paints in both a realistic style as well as abstract art and often has many canvases going at one time. He describes his creations as “eclectic works on canvas, paper, wood w/oils, acrylics, and mixed media, and encaustics.” He also experiments with sculpture.
The show’s 10 artists concentrate on social awareness and self-expressions of unique Latina, LatinX or Hispanic identities. “I very much enjoyed getting to meet and work with my fellow Hispanic artists to put this show together,” explains Torres, who worries “that the current political climate will only increase the challenge of expanding the opportunities for Latina artists to be seen.” He is proud of his role at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, “embracing our local artists and working to make sure the local institutions recognize the amazing art source the Hispanic community has to offer.”
DC Print Fair at Eastern Market Coming Soon
On Nov. 2, East City Art hosts the DC Print Fair at the North Hall of Eastern Market from 10 to 4 p.m. The event is sponsored through a grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. “The fair brings many different types of hand-pulled, one of a kind, limited edition prints to the Hill,” says organizer Phil Hutinet, “and prints are a great way for people to begin buying art because they are very affordable.”
Hill resident Cheryl Edwards is one of the 100 printmakers participating this year. Relief, intaglio, lithography, screen-printing, monotype, collagraph and Risograph will be part of the fair. The event is free to the public.
Meet Clare Winslow, Printmaker and Painter
One of the printmakers participating in the DC Print Fair is Bethesda artist Clare Winslow. Although her work is well known across the DMV, this will be Winslow’s first time presenting at Eastern Market’s North Hall. She is one of the 500 women artists included in the current “Women Artists of the DMV” show. This massive effort, on display in 17 locations across the DMV, is called the largest curated survey of contemporary living women artists in the nation.
Winslow earned a degree in fine arts from Catholic University of America and studied printmaking at the Corcoran College of Art. She mentored under Dennis O’Neil, an innovator in screen printing who taught at the Corcoran and started the Hand Print Workshop International group.
Winslow likes to think she has taken some of O’Neil’s techniques to another level, and loves the process of printmaking. “It is a multi-day process to create one of my screen prints, requiring me to travel from my studio in Kensington, Maryland, to Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville to print,” she explains. She creates the initial screen and then prints different layers as she works through the piece. 
“Coming from a family of painters, I have made art since I was a young girl, Winslow explains, “and I just don’t feel whole when I am not doing some kind of art.” Her work is abstract, with her current work, “Attachments,” combining “silkscreen tools with improvisation, using fragments of veils, nets and strands to suggest connective tissue.” Some layers obscure what is below, and other layers reveal new things, working like memory. She hopes viewers find emotional resonance and poetry and discover their own attachments.
These are wonderful prints you won’t want to miss.
October Art Openings:
“Interiors,” Capitol Hill Art League, Oct. 28 through Dec. 5, in the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop gallery. The show is juried by Marsha Staiger, abstract acrylic painter, with opening reception on Nov. 1 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Free to the public.
“Landed,” Elizabeth Coffey, IA&A at Hillyer, 9 Hillyer Court NW, Oct. 3 through Nov. 2. The solo show features representational painting using oil and repurposed lace and other textures. Opening, free to public, on Oct. 3, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
“30th Annual Art Safari,” Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, Virginia, Oct. 25, noon to 4:00 p.m. A tradition of Old Town Alexandria for a quarter of a century, it offers hands-on activities for kids and families on all three floors. Free.
“A Good Day’s Work,” Grandma Moses, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Oct. 24 through July 18, 2026. Starting her painting at age 77, Moses produced more than 1,500 nostalgic scenes of American life. The show reintroduces her work to new generations.
Rindy O’Brien writes about Capitol Hill’s art and cultural scene and can be contacted at rindyobrien@gmail.com.
