Jorge Blanco
Jorge Blanco
Sarasota, FL, United States
About Jorge Blanco
Jorge Blanco (b. 1945) is an international artist who has created a distinctive sculptural language over more than thirty years. His expressions on positive lifestyle are invitations to value its simplicity. Jorge creates soaring testaments to the optimism of everyday life. An abstracted figure prevails, that is at once recognizable and joyful, and has fast become Blanco’s trademark subject. Blanco has placed numerous public art sculptures in large format across the globe. In addition to public art, Blanco continues his life trajectory with collectible sculptures. In 1971 Blanco received his degree as an industrial designer from the prestigious Neumann Institute of Design in Caracas, Venezuela. Blanco learned to integrate industrial design with creative processes, under the mentorship of instructors who were predominately artists, such as Gego and Cornelis Zitman, among others, who emphasized artistry in their classrooms. Upon graduation Blanco began his career as a sculptor, freelance graphic designer and furniture designer. In the late 70s he studied at Rome’s Academy of Fine Arts. During his stay in Europe, Blanco also uncovered the world of cartoonists; this discovery led Blanco to create the most iconic comic strip in Venezuela’s history, “El Náufrago” (The Castaway). In 1980 “The Castaway” made its debut in El Diario de Caracas. The strip’s main character, “The Castaway,” rapidly became a beloved hallmark. Eight books have been published on Blanco’s “The Castaway.” For over thirty years, these black and white vignettes have delighted viewers through scenes that celebrate philosophical whimsy and human imagination; Blanco narrates heartfelt stories. Blanco also illustrated more than twenty storybooks for children and countless educational books. His accomplishments as an illustrator led him to a science, art and technology center; ”Children’s Museum” (Museo de los Niños), where he served as Creative Director for twenty years. During Blanco’s directorship at the Museum, his sculptural work evolved from darker expressions on political ideologies and existentialist absurdity into bright and energetic dialogs supporting newfound values: love, music, dance, sports and humor motivate Blanco’s widely known oeuvre. Throughout his career Jorge Blanco has designed purposefully. Blanco’s work not only embraces the scale of landscape, urbanism and technology in a singular fashion, its striking colors imbue the space around it with an unforgettable joyful aura. But there is nothing simple about his emblematic and geometric abstractions. Look closely at his subtle, and distinctly personal visual lexicon and you will also spot the influence of Alexander Calder, Paul Klee and Joan Miro among others. Blanco’s largest body of work has been created and fabricated in the United States. Jorge lives and works in Sarasota, Florida since 1999. He has been awarded many public art commissions in different cities in his adopted country. He has also created numerous works for private collectors in the US and in different parts of the world. Jorge Blanco’s technical mastery and flowing geometry has gained him international recognition. His artworks form part of sales in renown auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s and Phillips.
Exhibitions:
Public Art
“Go Bongo” 2014 / Site-specific commission for Ghent Station, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
“Thinker & Bird” 2014 / Site-specific commission for University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
“Swimming in Jupiter” 2014 / Site-specific commission, Jupiter, Florida, USA
“Air” 2012 / Site-specific commission for the PCMARC. Park City, Utah, USA
“Breakaway” 2011 / Small-scale-site-specific, Renown Health Center. Reno, Nevada, USA
“Yellow Thinker” 2011 / Small-scale-site-specific, Renown Health Center. Reno, Nevada, USA
“El Camarada” 2010 / Site-specific commission- José Ignacio, Punta del Este, Uruguay
“Freeriding” 2009 / Jack Harris Park, North Central College. Petosky, Michigan, USA
“Dynamics” 2009 / Site-specific commission, City of Fort Pierce. Florida, USA
“For The Goal” 2008 / Site-specific commission, City of Leawood Park. Kansas, USA
“Red Run Red” 2008 / Site-specific commission, City of Leawood Park. Kansas, USA
“Andalucia” 2008 / Site-specific commission, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
“Alfresco” 2006 / University Ridge Park. City of Reno, Nevada, USA
“In The Swim” 2005 / Marina Plaza, City of Fort Pierce. Florida, USA
“To Be Red” 2004 / Longboat Key Center for the Arts. Sarasota, Florida, USA
“Pleasant Tree” 2003 / City of Chula Vista Public Library. California, USA
“Phoenix” 2002 / Anderson Administration Building, City of Venice. Florida, USA
“Cartwheel” 2002 / Public Arts in the Public Schools. Sarasota, Florida, USA -
“The Runners” 2001 / Awarded by the City of Sarasota, Florida, USA
“Smile” 2000 / Boulevard of the Arts. Sarasota. Florida, USA
“Maratón” 1997 / Caracas, Venezuela
“Welcome” 1997 / Nagayama Plaza. Tokyo, Japan
“Yellow Man” 1997 / Nagayama Plaza. Tokyo, Japan
“Violet Man” 1997 / Nagayama Plaza. Tokyo, Japan
“Sun Smile” 1996 / Awarded by Project SMILE. Azabu Juban, Minato Ku, Tokyo, Japan
“Sun, Blue & Red 1993 / Caracas, Venezuela
Selected Solo Exhibits
2014/15 “The Joy of Living” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
2012 “Art Nocturne” Sculpture. Knokke-Heist, Belgium
2010 “De Punta en Blanco” Sculpture. Espacio Tierra Negra Gallery. José Ignacio, Uruguay
2009 “New Sculptures” One-man exhibition. HW Gallery. Naples, Florida, USA
1997 “Metálicas de Vida Alegre” Sculptures & Serigraphs. Icono Gallery. Caracas, Venezuela
1995 “Humor de Acero” Sculptures. Centro de Arte Euroamericano. Caracas, Venezuela
1992 “Caras y una Patilla” Sculpture. Galería Oscar Ascanio. Caracas, Venezuela
1979 “Esculturas y Dibujos” Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas. Caracas, Venezuela
1978 “Scultura e Disegni” Istituto Italo-Latino Americano. Roma, Italia
1976 “Disegni” Paesi Nuovi Gallery. Roma, Italia
1974 “30 Dibujos” Galería Banap. Caracas, Venezuela
Selected Group Exhibitions
2015 “Fluid Formalism: Concepts in Motion” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA2015
“Pinta Art Fair” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
2013 “Black, White & Red” A New Leaf Gallery/Sculpturesite, Sonoma, California, USA
2012 “Aesthetic Perfection” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
“Scope Miami” Miami, Florida, USA
“Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition” Polk Museum of Art + City of Winter Haven. Winter Haven, FL USA
2011 “Burst Art Fair” Miami, Florida, USA
“Public Art Exhibition” Coastal Discovery Museum. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA
2010 “WOW 3” Large-scale Sculpture Exhibition. Fort Pierce, Florida, USA
2008 “Cedarhurst Biennale” Cedarhurst Center for the Arts. Mt. Vernon, Illinois, USA
“Third Beijing International Art Biennale” National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
“WOW 2” Large-scale Sculpture Exhibition. Fort Pierce, Florida, USA
“Where the Wild Things (still) are” The Art Gallery at Florida Gulf Coast University. Fort Myers, Florida, USA
2007 “Sarasota Season of Sculpture 4” Large-scale exhibition. Sarasota, Florida, USA “Sculpture in the Plaza” Sculpturesite Gallery. San Francisco, California, USA
2006 “Figuratively Speaking Exhibition” Large-scale sculpture. Stamford, Connecticut, USA
“Primary Colors” Sculpturesite Gallery. San Francisco, California, USA
“Sarasota Se