Noel Caban
Press Release
Contact: Marcia Epstein
Exhibition Title: Post No Bills (Life between the margins)
Dates: March 8th - 29th, 2025
Location: Sweet Lorraine Gallery, 183 Lorraine St 3rd Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11231
POST NO BILLS (Life between the margins.)
As America intensifies its assault on immigrants, it becomes both a precarious and profound moment for a person of color to reflect on their personal history as an American citizen born on this soil. In Post No Bills, Noel Caban navigates this reflection through the evolving urban landscape of New York -- a city where persistent transformations are often framed as progress but frequently eclipse layered histories and marginal narratives.
Rooted in the Latino concept of respeto, Caban’s practice honors unseen histories and cultural layers through textured, collaged surfaces that evoke city walls, sidewalks, maps, topographies, and found materials. The title Post No Bills -- a ubiquitous urban directive meant to deter unauthorized postings — transforms under Caban's reinterpretation into a potent metaphor for erasure and control over public expression. In his hands, it becomes a symbol of resistance and reclamation, urging viewers to reimagine the city as a living archive of personal and collective memory.
Drawing on found materials imbued with their own histories, Caban’s work bears witness to the costs of urban renewal, preserving traces of stories often discarded in the name of convenience and capital. His exploration is partly inspired by urban theorist Jane Jacobs’ poignant observation: “The Puerto Ricans who come to our cities today have no place to roast pigs outdoors.” Through this lens, Caban interrogates the displacement of shared rituals and communal spaces that once defined his community. His art bridges that gap through materiality and memory, evoking a complex narrative of both loss and resilience.
Post No Bills ultimately advocates for a more profound understanding of urban life — one that values the small, the personal, and the overlooked as essential threads in the fabric of the city’s vibrancy.
About the Artist: Noel Caban is a multidisciplinary artist whose work addresses themes of displacement, migration, and cultural memory. His practice emphasizes the use of found materials and engages deeply with urban landscapes and marginalized histories.
For press inquiries and additional information DM: Marcia Epstein: gifanim1@gmail.com