Byzantine Bembé

This brand-new bi-lingual Spanish/English volume celebrates in lush detail the first major exhibition focusing on the art and career of the Bronx-born (b. 1956), Nuyorican artist, Manny Vega.

Manny Vega's art can be found in the form of mosaics and murals adorning street walls, subway stations, cultural centres and business facades throughout New York's East Harlem. Much of his work celebrates important figures--particularly women--in the history of the Puerto Rican and Latinx communities. Dubbed "Byzantine Hip- Hop" for its uncompromising technical command, Vega's aesthetic encompasses ancient Mediterranean mosaicmaking and the electrifying lines of hyper-detailed Sharpie pen-and-ink drawings.

Richly illustrated with over 100 artworks and 60 comparative images, this volume covers the full range of Vega's artistic output, from carefully crafted mosaics, including female figures and stylized album covers, to prints and works on paper, dating from the 1980s. Vega's

art has been deeply inspired by the Afro-Brazilian spiritual practices of Candombl?, which combines African, Roman Catholic and indigenous Brazilian religions, which, along with the neighborhood of El Barrio, and music, have been an anchor of Vega's visual lexicon. His worldview is colourful, danceable, passionately spiritual and complex whilst also being accessible.