Jorge Blanco
Encyclopedia
Jorge Blanco
is an artist from Venezuela
before he emigrated to the United States in 1999. Jorge Blanco is currently residing in Sarasota, Florida
. He has spent his professional career working as a sculptor, graphic designer
and illustrator
. His work is in public sites in the United States, Venezuela and Japan.
. After graduation he worked as a graphic designer. His first solo exhibition was in 1974, where he showed sculpture and drawings. He lived in Rome, Italy (1975–1979) where he continued to work in sculpture, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and drew political cartoons for the newspaper L'Opinione. He participated in the Bordhigera Humor Salon, (1978) winning the Dattero D'Argento and in the Monterotondo Sculpture Salon, where he was awarded the first prize for medium format sculpture. In an interview Blanco states, “Sculpture is my passion. I will do this forever. Everything else is a second, different level."
.” The Comic has become the cover of notebooks, images of various models of phone cards, along with images of several t-shirts.
and by the work of artists such as Auguste Herbin
, Paul Klee
and Joan Miró
. He worked with unconventional materials such as Lycra, rope, wood, mirrors combined with bronze. Blanco's sculptures were and continue to be geometric studies, interpretations of his internal world. In 1992 Blanco began to explore color and metal as a primary material. Blanco shares his thoughts on what has influenced him: “If I was living in the desert in Africa is might be impossible to do what I am doing. I am doing this because of my experience from the big city, my experience as a graphic designer and my studies in industrial design; it seems it was all put in a blender and my passion was developed."
is an artist from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
before he emigrated to the United States in 1999. Jorge Blanco is currently residing in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
. He has spent his professional career working as a sculptor, graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
. His work is in public sites in the United States, Venezuela and Japan.
Education
Blanco began painting in 1967, and sculpting in the early 1970s. In the eyes of Blanco however he has been an artist since childhood. “I have been an artist all my life because--in my opinion--every child is an artist. I never stopped drawing or coloring," Blanco said in an interview for the Observer (a newspaper printed in Florida). His interest in three-dimensional work is always at the forefront of his career. He won a scholarship at the Neumann Institute in Caracas, Venezuela, graduating with a degree in Industrial DesignIndustrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
. After graduation he worked as a graphic designer. His first solo exhibition was in 1974, where he showed sculpture and drawings. He lived in Rome, Italy (1975–1979) where he continued to work in sculpture, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and drew political cartoons for the newspaper L'Opinione. He participated in the Bordhigera Humor Salon, (1978) winning the Dattero D'Argento and in the Monterotondo Sculpture Salon, where he was awarded the first prize for medium format sculpture. In an interview Blanco states, “Sculpture is my passion. I will do this forever. Everything else is a second, different level."
Career
In 1979 Blanco returned to Caracas, Venezuela where he exhibited his sculptures and drawings at the Sofía Imber Museum of Contemporary Art. Blanco continued working in sculpture and he also designed and illustrated a children's newspaper "El Cohete". In 1980 was hired as the Art Director for the Caracas Children's Museum (Art, Science and Technology, Museo de los Niños) (1980–1998). During his 18 years at the Caracas Children’s Museum Jorge Blanco created his character (The Castaway) in 1981. After leaving the Caracas Children’s Museum Blanco moved to the United States where he is still living today. Jorge receives commissions for large sculpture pieces and exhibits his art work often. From December 26, 2010 to January 4, 2011 Jorge showed his “Punta en Blanco” exhibit at the Gallary Espacio Tierra Negra.The Castaway (El Naufrago)
The castaway is comic about a man trapped on an island. There are no words in the comic, just images of the character living on the island. The comic was originally printed in the newspaper “El Diario de CaracasEl Diario de Caracas
El Diario de Caracas was a newspaper published in Caracas, Venezuela. It was co-founded in 1979 by Diego Arria and the writer Tomas Eloy Martinez, an Argentine exile. Another Argentine exile, Rodolfo Terragno, was at one time its editor-in-chief....
.” The Comic has become the cover of notebooks, images of various models of phone cards, along with images of several t-shirts.
Influences
Blanco's early works were influenced by his teachers Gertrude Goldschmidt (Gego) and Cornelis ZitmanCornelis Zitman
Cornelis Zitman is a Dutch-Venezuelan sculptor and draftsman.-Biography:Zitman was born to a family of construction workers in Leiden, The Netherlands. He enrolled in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague at the age of fifteen...
and by the work of artists such as Auguste Herbin
Auguste Herbin
Auguste Herbin was a French painter.-Biography:Born in Quiévy, Nord, he studied drawing at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lille, from 1898 to 1901, when he settled in Paris....
, Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
and Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
. He worked with unconventional materials such as Lycra, rope, wood, mirrors combined with bronze. Blanco's sculptures were and continue to be geometric studies, interpretations of his internal world. In 1992 Blanco began to explore color and metal as a primary material. Blanco shares his thoughts on what has influenced him: “If I was living in the desert in Africa is might be impossible to do what I am doing. I am doing this because of my experience from the big city, my experience as a graphic designer and my studies in industrial design; it seems it was all put in a blender and my passion was developed."
Selected works
- Freeriding. Petoskey, Michigan
- For The Goal. City of Leawood, Kansas
- Run Red Run. City of Leawood, Kansas
- Dynamics. Fort Pierce, Florida
- The Runners. Sarasota, Florida
- Alfresco. Reno, Nevada
- Andalucia. Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
- Pleasant Tree. Chula Vista, California
- Maratón. Caracas, Venezuela
- Welcome. Tokyo, Japan
Solo exhibitions
- 1995 "Iron Humor," Sculptures, Euroamerican Art Center, Caracas, Venezuela
- 1987 "Travel in the Subway with The Castaway," Metro de Caracas, Venezuela
- 1979 Sculptures and Drawings by Jorge Blanco, Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas Sofia Imber, Caracas, Venezuela
- 1978 Sculptures & Drawings by Jorge Blanco, Italian-Latin American Institute, Rome, Italy Selected Group
Selected group exhibitions
- 2006 "Figuratively Speaking," Stamford, Connecticut
- 2005 "Vernissage" Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 2005 HW Gallery, Naples, Florida
- 2005 "New Works," A New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, California