Artists paint the people that made the Bronx in vivid exhibition

Photographer Ricky Flores grew up in the Bronx of the 1970s and ’80s, immersed in the early days of hip-hop and surrounded by the rampant fires that wreaked destruction in the borough.

Artwork inspired by Flores’ photographs of his friends and family through that time is the focus of an exhibition this month, “Faces from the Block,” being hosted at the BronxArtSpace in New York City until Aug. 8. Paintings, photos, and street murals tell stories of the Bronx across decades with portraits of locals and spirited moments, like a couple breakdancing on the street.

“Flores’ images immortalized an entire generation of youth, breakdancers, teenagers on stoops, fires and abandoned buildings,” the BronxArtSpace’s website says.

The exhibition includes Flores’ photos and paintings from years of collaboration between him and two Brazilian artists, Ananda Nahú and Izolag. The Brazilians originally came across Flores’ work on Flickr and saw a connection between Flores’ photographs of the evolution of the South Bronx and street life in Rio de Janeiro.

While they’re in New York City, Nahú and Izolaq are also painting new murals inspired by Flores’ work at three public housing blocks in the neighborhood.