Jose Cotto was born and raised in Great Brook Valley, a housing project in Worcester, Massachusetts and has called New Orleans home since 2012. The son of a single mother raising four kids, he often found himself being pulled between the streets and his desire to create — art was always a means to escape and tune in, to forget and remember, to channel all the beauty that existed in the chaos in order to get a glimpse of what could be. Known more for his intimate portraits of the people and places that surround him, Jose’s creative practice also includes poetry, carpentry, architecture, mark making, and more. His work explores the relationships between people, place, and time; with hopes to understand what it might mean to live up to our human potential. What it might mean to live in true harmony with the energies of our home and our destinies. While in the woods, he worked on poems for a series of drawings called ancestors, created some visual work/photographs, and wrote.

“It gave me time and space to remind myself that I am an artist — that I am part of a lineage of creators who have only ever needed the land for inspiration. It gave me time and space to ground myself and be without a feeling of expectation — being was simply enough. It gave me time and space to reflect about my childhood and my family. Gave me time and space to let my mind exhale. These are the things that I will remember most.” – Jose Cotto

Photo by Andrea Outhuse.