34 years! (707) 933-1300 info@sculpturesite.com
34 years! (707) 933-1300 info@sculpturesite.com
Figurative and Abstract Metal Sculpture
Jorge Blanco earned a degree in Industrial Design from the Neumann Institute of Design in Caracas in 1971, which facilitated his ability to integrate industrial design with creative processes under the mentorship of instructors who were predominately artists. After graduation, Blanco started his career as a sculptor, freelance graphic designer, and furniture designer.
In the mid-1970s, Blanco moved to Rome, Italy. He attended open classes at the Academy of Fine Arts while he also working on his sculptures, and he made a living by doing freelance graphic design and drawing cartoons for various Roman newspapers and magazines. This led him to create the most iconic comic strip in Venezuela’s history, "The Castaway" (El Náufrago).
Blanco has also illustrated more than twenty storybooks for children, and countless educational books. In 1979, his accomplishments as an illustrator led him to the Caracas Children's Museum (Museo de los Niños), a science, art and technology center, where he designed the corporate image and 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.
In 1980, Blanco's comic strip became an overnight success with sales in merchandising and books, and even crossing over to television. It was published in major newspapers and magazines in Venezuela. For over thirty years, Jorge Blanco’s heartfelt vignettes offer scenes that celebrate philosophical whimsy and human imagination. “El Náufrago” (The Castaway) is now being published online in the reborn digital version of "El Diario."
Throughout his career, Jorge Blanco has designed purposefully. His work embraces scale, landscape, urbanism and technology. In a singular fashion, his art, with its striking colors and impressive scale, imbues the surrounding landscape, architecture, and social context with an unforgettable joyful aura. Look closely at his subtle and distinctly personal visual lexicon and you will spot the influence of Alexander Calder, Paul Klee and Joan Miro among others. Yet there is nothing derivative about his emblematic and geometric abstractions. They are a direct response and addition to each site.
Jorge Blanco (American born in Venezuela 1945) is an international artist who has created a distinctive sculptural language throughout his career. His art values a positive lifestyle, creating soaring testaments to the optimism of everyday life. Jorge Blanco’s trademark subject is an abstracted figure that is at once recognizable and joyful. In addition to public art, Blanco continues his life trajectory by making collectible sculptures. His works, which are either one of a kind or in very small editions, including the indoor pieces, have continued to increase in value through excellent results at auctions.
Blanco emmigrated to the United States in 1999 and since then has won many public art commissions in different cities in his adopted country. Blanco’s largest body of work has been created and fabricated in the United States. He utilizes the best practices, processes, and fabrication standards for both his outdoor installations and his smaller scale works.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2018 "Solo Blanco," solo-exhibit, Alfstad& Contemporary, Sarasota, Florida, USA
2016 "Jorge Blanco-Solo Space," O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
2014/15 “The Joy of Living” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
2012 “Art Nocturne”, Cafmeyer Gallery, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
2010 “De Punta en Blanco”, Espacio Tierra Negra Gallery, José Ignacio, Uruguay
2009 “New Sculptures”, HW Gallery, Naples, FL
1997 “Metálicas de Vida Alegre”, Icono Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela
1995 “Humor de Acero”, Centro de Arte Euroamericano, Caracas, Venezuela
1992 “Caras y una Patilla”, 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, Rome, Italy
1976 “Disegni”, Paesi Nuovi Gallery, Rome, Italy
1974 “30 Dibujos”, Galería Banap, Caracas, Venezuela
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019
“Sculptures” / Cafmeyer Gallery, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
“Sculptures” / Market Art + Design, The Bridgehampton Museum, Bridgehampton, NY, USA
“Sculptures” / Reveal International Art Fair, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
Group Show / Shopliftable, Gaze Modern, Sarasota, FL, USA
2018
“Miami Art Basel / Pinta” M O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
"CG -Art", Back to Beautiful Celebration, O. Ascanio Gallery, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
"Art Boca Raton," Lurie Fine Arts, Boca Raton, Florida, USA
"Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary," Palm Beach, Florida, USA
“Miami Art Basel/Aqua,” Alfstad& Contemporary Miami, Florida, USA
2017
"Connecting Vanguards" Espace Expression, O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
"Living with Art," O. Ascanio Gallery, Vitri Building, Miami, FL USA
"Peaceful Resonance for Venezuelan Children" O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
“Art Palm Beach,” O. Ascanio Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
“LA Art Show,” Modern & Contemporary, O. Ascanio Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA
2016
“Miami Art Basel / Pinta” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
“LA Art Show,” Modern & Contemporary, Los Angeles, California, USA
"Small and Big," Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, Florida, USA
2015
“Miami Art Basel / Pinta” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
"The Lightness of Being: Abstracts: Part 1," Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, Florida, USA
“Fluid Formalism: Concepts in Motion,” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
"Contemporary Expressions" & "Recent Sculptures by Jorge Blanco,” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
2013 "Black, White, Red," a new leaf gallery | sculpturesite, Sonoma, CA
2012 “Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition”, Polk Museum of Art/City of Winter Haven, FL
2011 “Burst Art Fair”, Miami, FL
2011 “Public Art Exhibition”, Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island, SC
2010 “WOW 3”, large-scale sculpture exhibition, Fort Pierce, FL
2008 “Cedarhurst Biennale”, Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, Mt. Vernon, IL
2008 “Third Beijing International Art Biennale”, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2008 “WOW 2”, large-scale sculpture exhibition, Fort Pierce, FL
2008 “Where the Wild Things (Still) Are”, The Art Gallery at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL
2007 “Sarasota Season of Sculpture 4”, large-scale sculpture exhibition, Sarasota, FL
2007 “Sculpture in the Plaza”, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 “Figuratively Speaking Exhibition”, large-scale sculpture exhibition, Stamford, CT
2006 “Primary Colors”, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 “Sarasota Season of Sculpture Exhibition”, Sarasota, FL
2005 “Grand Opening Exhibition”, Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 “New Works”, A New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2004 “Sculpture”, Fenn Gallery, Woodbury, CT
2004 “Sculpture”, A New Leaf Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2004 “ArteAmericas”, Miami, FL
2004 “Sculpture”, Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Longboat Key, FL
2004 “Urban Trees”, Port of San Diego, CA
2004 “Sarasota Season of Sculpture”, Sarasota, FL
2003 “Hispanic Artists”, City of Aventura Government Building, Aventura, FL
2003 “Sculpture”, Katherine Butler Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2001 “Pier Walk Exhibition,” Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
1999 “Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea”, Firenze, Italy
1998 “Fundraising Gala”, John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL
1998 “Sculpture”, Galleria Silecchia, Sarasota, FL
1997 “Una Tonelada de Arte”, Sculpture, Miami Beach, FL
1997 “Sculpture”, Virginia Miller Gallery, Coral Gables, FL
1996 “Esculturas”, Galería Ardentía, Porlamar, Venezuela
1993 “Coca-Cola, 50 años con el Arte”, Galería Oscar Ascanio, Caracas, Venezuela
1993 “Primer Festival de Esculturas”, Centro Cultural Consolidado, Caracas, Venezuela
1987 “Primer Festival de Arte Venezolano”, Galería Oscar Ascanio, Caracas, Venezuela
1981 “Primera Bienal de Artes Visuales”, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
1980 “Esculturas”, Galería Terracota, Caracas, Venezuela
1979 “XVIII Premio Internacional de Dibujo Joan Miro”, Barcelona, Spain
1979 “Dibujos”, Concejo Municipal del Distrito Federal, Caracas, Venezuela
1979 “XXXVII Salon Arturo Michelena”, Ateneo de Valencia, Venezuela
1979 “XVII Premio Salón Internacional de Dibujo Joan Miro”, Barcelona, Spain
1979 “Primer Salón de Dibujo Nuevo”, Banco Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela
1978 “III Salón Internacional de Escultura, Pintura y Gráfica”, Torre D’Ansperto, Milan, Italy
1977 “Mostra di Artisti Latinoamericani a Roma”, Galleria San Marco, Rome, Italy
1977 “XVI Premio Internacional de Dibujo Joan Miro”, Barcelona, Spain
1977 “Nuevas Proposiciones”, Casa Bello, Caracas, Venezuela
1977 “Muestra de Dibujos”, Sala de la Cultura, Diputación de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
1975 “XXXIII Salón Arturo Michelena”, Ateneo de Valencia, Venezuela
1975 “Primer Encuentro de Jóvenes Artistas”, Casa de la Cultura, Maracay, Venezuela
1975 “IV Salón Nacional de Jóvenes Artistas”, INCIBA, Caracas, Venezuela
1975 “Plástica Jóven”, Instituto Venezolano del Petróleo, Caracas, Venezuela
1975 “Primer Salón de Dibujo, Grabado y Diseño Gráfico”, Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
1975 “II Salón Nacional de Escultura”, Universidad de Carabobo, Valencia, Venezuela
1975 “Varias Visiones”, Galería G, Caracas, Venezuela
1974 “XXXII Salon Arturo Michelena”, Ateneo de Valencia, Valencia, Venezuela
1973 “III Salón Nacional de Jóvenes Artistas”, INCIBA, Caracas, Venezuela
1973 “Primer Salón de Arte Centro Plaza”, Caracas, Venezuela
1971 “Gráfica Joven”, Galería de Arte y Grabado, Caracas, Venezuela
Selected Public Commissions
“See Red Run” / Site-specific commission, City of Roeland Park, Kansas, USA
“Bravo!” 2017 / Site-specific commission, roundabout at Ringling & Orange Ave, Sarasota, Florida, USA
“Home Run” 2017 / Site-specific commission City of Carmel, Indiana USA
“Kick!” 2017 / Site-specific commission City of Carmel, Indiana USA
“On Wheels” 2017 / Site-specific commission City of Carmel, Indiana USA
“Go Bongo Blue” 2017 Site-specific commission for Citi Tower, Orlando, Florida, USA
“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”, Renown Health Center, Reno, Nevada
“Yellow Thinker”, Renown Health Center, Reno, Nevada
“El Camarada”, José Ignacio, Punta del Este, Uruguay
“Freeriding”, Jack Harris Park, North Central College, Petoskey, MI
“Dynamics”, City of Fort Pierce, FL
“For The Goal”, City of Leawood Park, KS
“Red Run Red”, City of Leawood Park, KS
“In The Swim”, Marina Plaza, City of Fort Pierce, FL
“Andalucia”, Riverside Commerce Park, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
“Alfresco”, University Ridge Park, City of Reno, NV
“The Runners”, Awarded by the City of Sarasota, FL
“Smile”, Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota, FL
“Positively Red”, Sarasota Season of Sculpture Preview, Sarasota, FL
“Chef Salad” and “Cool Idea”, Sculptures for McDonald’s Corporate Offices, Caracas, Venezuela
“The Castaway”, Poster (mixed media) for McDonald’s Corporate Offices, Caracas, Venezuela
“For the Children”, Large format sculpture, Centro Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela
“Pleasant Tree”, City of Chula Vista Public Library, Chula Vista, CA
“Phoenix”, Anderson Administration Building, City of Venice, FL
“To Be Red”, Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Sarasota, FL
“Cartwheel”, Public Arts in the Public Schools Project, Sarasota, FL
“Maratón”, Commissioned by the Ecological Movement “Un Cariño para Mi Ciudad” (A Gift to My City), Caracas, Venezuela
“Nagayama Plaza”, group of three sculptures, Commissioned by the Contemporary Sculpture Center, Tokyo, Japan
“Sun Smile”, Awarded by Project SMILE, Azabu Juban, Minato Ku, Tokyo, Japan
Selected Honors and Awards
2012 Honorable Mention, Outdoor Sculpture Competition, Polk Museum of Art/City of Winter Haven, FL
2008 Selected for the Third Beijing International Art Biennale, National Art Museum, Beijing, China
2007 John Ringling Fund Individual Artist Fellowship, Sarasota, FL
1999 Selected to represent Venezuela in the “Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea” (International Biannual of Contemporary Art), Florence, Italy
1998 Second Class “Presidential Order Andrés Bello” for Renowned Artists, by the Government of the City of Caracas, Venezuela
1993 First Class “Order Francisco Fajardo” for Renowned Artists, by the Government of the City of Caracas, Venezuela
1979 “XVII Premio International de Dibujo Joan Miro”, Barcelona, Spain
1979 “Premio Universidad de Carabobo”, XXXVII Salon Arturo Michelena, Ateneo de Valencia, Valencia, Venezuela
1978 Award for Sculpture, Torre D’Ansperto, Milan, Italy
1978 First Award for Medium Format Sculpture, Monterrotondo, Italy
1975 “Premio Universidad de Carabobo”, XXXIII Salon Arturo Michelena, Ateneo de Valencia, Valencia, Venezuela
Education
Academy of Fine Arts, Rome, Italy
1971 Neumann Institute of Design, Caracas, Venezuela, degree in Industrial Design