Edra Soto

Edra Soto
Soto at the Obama Presidential Center, 2026
Born
Edra Soto

1971 (age 54–55)
Puerto Rico
EducationEscuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico [BFA]; School of the Art Institute of Chicago [MFA]

Edra Soto (born 1971, Puerto Rico) is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist, curator, educator, and co-director of the artist-run outdoor project space The Franklin.

Biography

Edra Soto was born in Puerto Rico in 1971. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Escuela de Artes Plasticas de Puerto Rico in 1994. After moving to Chicago, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000. She has received several awards, including the Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship (2016) and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Individual Artists Award (2017). She has curated numerous exhibitions, including co-curating Present Standard at the Chicago Cultural Center in 2016. She is a faculty member in the Contemporary Practices Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows both nationally and internationally.

The Franklin

In 2012, Soto and her husband Dan Sullivan founded The Franklin, an artist-run project space in the backyard of their home in Garfield Park, featuring installations and site-specific work by Chicago and national artists.

The Franklin Collection of over 200 artworks by local, national, and international artists is also at the Garfield Park location.

Works

Soto's ongoing site-specific GRAFT series, begun in 2013, incorporates the geometric designs of iron rejas screens popular throughout Puerto Rico. In 2014, Soto and Dan Sullivan were awarded a public art commission from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for the Blue Line Western Station. Their work will be a large-scale installation for the stationhouse exterior.

Edra Soto was an Artist-in-Residence at Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego, California, in 2023. In 2024, Soto received the Joyce Foundation award from the Sculpture Center in Cleveland, Ohio; and was selected by the New York Public Art Fund to present a project in Central Park. Her work was included in the group show Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; and acquired by the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida.

Personal life

Soto is married to Dan Sullivan, and the two are frequent creative collaborators.

Exhibitions (selection)

References

  1. ↑ "Efroymson Family Fund Awards Millionth Dollar to Contemporary Visual Artists". Central Indiana Community Foundation. 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  2. ↑ "City of Chicago: Present Standard". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  3. ↑ "esotof". School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  4. ↑ "The Franklin". Temporary Art Review. 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  5. ↑ "Meet Edra Soto of The Franklin in East Garfield and Humboldt Park - Voyage Chicago | Chicago City Guide". 27 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  6. ↑ Soto, Edra. "The Franklin Collection". 3Arts: 3AP – MAKE ART WORK. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  7. ↑ "Grafting Puerto Rican Architecture onto the Lower East Side". Hyperallergic. 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  8. ↑ "Review: Edra Soto/Terrain". Newcity Art. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  9. ↑ "CTA Selects Your New Blue Contractor for Damen, Western and California station renovations". CTA. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  10. ↑ "Public Art on the CTA". CTA. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  11. 1 2 "Edra Soto: Graft". ICA. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  12. ↑ "Edra Soto with The Sculpture Center". The Joyce Foundation. 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  13. 1 2 "Edra Soto: Graft". Public Art Fund. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  14. ↑ "Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape". Carnegie Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  15. ↑ Cuddy, Alison (2025-04-23). "Chicago's busiest art couple is shaping the city one project at a time". WBEZ. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
  16. ↑ "Exhibitions - Morgan Lehman Gallery". www.morganlehmangallery.com. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  17. ↑ "Edra Soto | University Galleries - Illinois State". galleries.illinoisstate.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  18. ↑ "The Commons Artist Project: Edra Soto: Open 24 Hours". MCA. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  19. ↑ "Traduttore, Traditore". Gallery 400. November 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  20. ↑ "City of Chicago: Forgotten Forms". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-23.