No items found.
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. His numerous large format public art sculptures may be seen across the globe. In addition to public art, Blanco continues his life trajectory by making collectible sculptures.
Jorge has lived and worked in Sarasota, Florida since 1999 and has won many public art commissions in different cities in his adopted country. He has also created numerous works for private collectors in the United States and in different parts of the world.
With a degree (1971) in industrial design from the prestigious Neumann Institute of Design in Caracas, Venezuela, he learned 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.
Jorge also studied at Rome’s Academy of Fine Arts. During his stay in Europe, he discovered the world of cartoonists, which led him to create the most iconic comic strip in Venezuela’s history, “El Náufrago” (The Castaway). In 1980 it made its debut in El Diario de Caracas For over thirty years, Jorge Blanco’s heartfelt vignettes offer scenes that celebrate philosophical whimsy and human imagination.
His accomplishments as an illustrator led him to a science, art and technology center, where he served as Creative Director for twenty years. During Blanco’s directorship at the science center, 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. 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.
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 outdoor and smaller scale work and have increasingly high values in auction houses such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s & Phillips.
• "See Red Run" 2017-2019 / Site-specific commission, City of Roeland Park, Kansas, USA
• "Bravo!" 2016-2018 / Site-specific commission, City of 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 "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” 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
2019
"Shopliftable," Group exhibit, Gaze Modern, Sarasota, Florida, USA
2018
"Solo Blanco," solo-exhibit, Alfstad& Contemporary, Sarasota, 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
"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
“Pinta Art Fair,” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
“LA Art Show,” Modern & Contemporary, Los Angeles, California, USA
"Jorge Blanco-Solo Space," O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
"Small and Big," Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, Florida, USA
2015
“The Joy of Living” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
“Pinta Art Fair,” 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
2014
“The Joy of Living” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
“Made in Sarasota," Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, Florida, USA
“Pinta Art Fair,” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
2013
“Black, White & Red,” Sculpturesite, Sonoma, California, USA
2012
“Aesthetic Perfection,” O. Ascanio Gallery, Miami, Florida, USA
“Art Nocturne” Sculpture. Knokke-Heist, Belgium
“Scope Miami,” Miami, Florida, USA
“Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition,” Polk Museum of Art + City of Winter Haven, FL USA
2011
“Burst Art Fair,” Miami, Florida, USA
“Public Art Exhibition,” Coastal Discovery Museum. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA
2010
“De Punta en Blanco” Sculpture. Espacio Tierra Negra Gallery. José Ignacio, Uruguay
“WOW 3,” Large-scale Sculpture Exhibition. Fort Pierce, Florida, USA
2009
“New Sculptures” One-man exhibition. HW Gallery. Naples, 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, FL, USA
2007
“Sarasota Season of Sculpture 4,” Large-scale Suclpture 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 Season of Sculpture Exhibition,” Sarasota, Florida, USA
2005
“Grand Opening Exhibition,” Sculpturesite Gallery. San Francisco, California, USA
“New Works,” A New Leaf Gallery-Sculpture Site. Berkeley, California, USA
2004
“Sculpture,” Fenn Gallery. Woodbury, Connecticut, USA
“Sculpture,” A New Leaf Gallery. Berkeley, California, USA
“ArteAmericas,” Miami, Florida, USA
“Urban Trees,” Port of San Diego. California, USA
“Sarasota Season of Sculpture,” Sarasota, Florida, USA
2003
"Sarasota Season of Sculpture," The Bayfront Exhibition, Sarasota, Florida, USA
“Hispanic Artists,” City of Aventura Government Building. Aventura, Florida, USA
“Sculpture,” Katherine Butler Gallery. Sarasota, Florida, USA
2002
"Sarasota Season of Sculpture," The Bayfront Exhibition, Sarasota, Florida, USA
2001
“Pier Walk Exhibition,” Navy Pier. Chicago, Illinois, USA
2000
"Sarasota Season of Sculpture," Inaugural Biannual Exhibition, Sarasota, Florida, USA
1999
"Sarasota Season of Sculpture, Preview," Maquettes, Selby Public Library, Sarasota, Florida, USA
"Sarasota Season of Sculpture, Preview," Large-scale Sculpture "Positively Red", Selby Public Library, Sarasota, Florida, USA
“Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea,” Florence, Italy
1997
“Fast Life Metallics,” Sculptures & Serigraphs, Icono Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela
“A Ton of Art,” Sculptures, Britto Central, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
1995
“Iron Humor,” Sculptures, EuroAmerican Art Center, Caracas, Venezuela
1992
“Faces and a Watermelon,” Sculptures, Oscar Ascanio Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela
1979
“Esculturas y Dibujos” Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas. Caracas, Venezuela
"XVII International Salon of Drawing Joan Miro," Barcelona, Spain
1978
“Scultura e Disegni” Istituto Italo-Latino Americano. Roma, Italy
1976
“Disegni” Paesi Nuovi Gallery. Roma, Italy
1974
“XXXII Salon Arturo Michelena,” Ateneo de Valencia, Venezuela
SELECTED AWARDS & HONORS
2013
DCOTA Stars of Design Award
2008
Selected to represent the US. Third Beijing Art Biennale. Beijing, China
2007
John Ringling Towers Fund, Individual Artist Award. Sarasota, Florida, USA
1998
Decorated with the Second Class "Order Andres Bello," for renown artists by the President of Venezuela
1993
Decorated with the First Class "Order Francisco Fajardo," for renowned Artists, by the Government of the City of Caracas, Venezuela
1979
University of Carabobo Award, XXXVI Salon Arturo Michelena, Ateneo de Valencia, Venezuela
1978
Award for Sculpture, Torre D'Ansperto, Milan, Italy
First Award for medium format sculpture, Monterrotondo, Italy
1975
University of Carabobo Award, XXXII Salon Arturo Michelena, Ateneo de Valencia, Venezuela
