Hollis Taggart is hosting a retrospective of Frank Diaz Escalet, a Puerto Rican-born artist whose unique practice involved creating intricate figurative compositions from inlaid leather. Raised in New York and later based in Maine, Escalet transitioned from a master leather craftsman catering to celebrities like the Rolling Stones to a fine artist focused on the lives of everyday people. The exhibition showcases his self-taught technique of cutting, dyeing, and conjoining leather shapes to create vibrant scenes of Puerto Rican culture and urban life.
This exhibition serves as a critical reappraisal of an artist who has been largely overlooked by mainstream art history despite international exhibitions and high-profile collectors during his lifetime. By highlighting Escalet’s technical ingenuity and his dedication to depicting the immigrant experience and the working class, the show challenges traditional boundaries between craft and fine art. It positions Escalet as a significant figure in the narrative of 20th-century American and Puerto Rican art.