Statement:
“A
fusion of experiences throughout my life told through abstract works.
They encompass people i have met and places i have been, and recollections i re-create from the impressions these special folks or places
make upon me. In other words, the intent is to celebrate those traits we as humans have in common and altogether make us one... To celebrate life.”
About:
...Spending
a semester in Rome emphasized what I had already been feeling, that
art is a part of me. It's something I have to do, which gives me that
outlet and allows me to share with the world. Hopefully someday
leaving behind a legacy or just perhaps a helpful record of what
transpired in someone's life from our time told through works of art.
What makes it interesting, is that these stories are told through
the eyes and hands of someone with such a diverse and different
background.
Born
in Honduras, CA I began life as an upper middle class child in a
third world country, brought to the USA in 86' at the age of ten, to
a mostly African American community in New Jersey. From there my parents took us
to upstate New York, where we grew up struggling to pay the rent for
most of my teenage years. While in high school took up architecture
and art courses, had two pieces elected into a national traveling
show across the US. Then I left for New York City, where after
studying architecture at Pratt Institute, and this is where I had the
privilege of studying art and architecture in Rome for a semester,
decided to stay and work as a junior architect in a firm which
specialized in designing train stations. After this I took up with a
small firm in chinatown in which I was learning to design high end
residential (town houses) and restaurants. By this point had already
picked painting back up. It was also at this point in time that I
witnessed 9/11 from a rooftop on Canal street.
“Riding
through New York City on a motorcycle is as fun as swimming in
the sea”.
A
few years later I was working for an exhibit design firm in the west
of Greenwich Village, where I had the good fortune of working on an
aquarium, of which the building was designed by the Renzo Piano
Building workshop from Italy and France. It was after the
design/documentation phase was over that I decided to become a full
time freelancer, working for the celebrated (late) Jeffrey Bacon and
then Mr. Cary Tamarkin, Jeff who designed in the traditional style
and Cary who was a developer/architect and designed in the modern
Bauhaus style. I strongly believe all this had a very important
influence on my work, meeting and sharing with talented and
interesting people from diverse backgrounds. By this
point had also amassed enough of a collection to begin showing.
I have been living in Taylors, SC for the last decade and work in Greenville. Finally broke into the art scene in downtown Greenville with a solo exhibition at the offices of MHK Architecture and Planning on Main St. in the summer of 2019. From there I was accepted to exhibit 30 pieces in a solo show at The Greer Center for Arts from Jan. 20' until July 20'. I just finished my first competition in which I placed 7th and will be included as one of the 8 winners and showcase my work in downtown Greenville all of 2021.
My
work is introspective, and most of the early pieces have something to do
with me or a recollection of some sorts, in many cases self portraits. I am now moving towards the conceptual expressionism side of things and am painting more with feeling, getting away from having the pieces be strictly about me but the impression they make upon me, and transposed onto the canvas. The Models series is a prime example of this, how the women move me to feel and I portray them on canvas.
Jose
Romero
Artist
(917)
353-5703
Resume:
Cafe Batata, Northport, NY (summer 05')
– exhibited 12 pieces for 2 months
Outsider Studio, Livingston
Manor, NY (June 06') – exhibited 6 pieces for a month
Outsider
Studio, Livingston Manor, NY (July 06') – exhibited 8 pieces for a
month
Outsider Studio, Livingston Manor, NY (July 07') –
exhibited 6 pieces for a month
Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY
(April 08') – exhibited 1 piece for a month
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (June 11')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (Oct 11')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (Nov 11')
Athens Art - The International Arts Festival, Naxos, Greece
(Jan 12')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus, Ohio (April 12')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (May 12')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (June 12')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (July 12')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (August 12')
The Mac Worthington Gallery of Contemporary Art, Columbus,
Ohio (September 12')
Solo show at the offices of MHK Architecture and Planning, Greenville, S.C. (June 19')
Solo show at The Greer Center For Arts, Greer, S.C. (Jan.-July 2020)
Placed 7th out of 133 in "Flat Out Under Pressure", a competition organized by Greenville's Metropolitan Arts Council in the Spring of 20', and the piece will be exhibited in downtown Greenville for a year in 21'. The top 8 were considered the winners.
Exhibit at The Wild Hare Gallery in Travelers Rest, S.C. Fall 20' to Spring 21'.
Group show at Exhibit B Gallery, Souderton, PA December 20'.
The Greenville Center for Arts, group show, Jan. and Feb. 21'
The Artist Guild of Greenville, Featured Artist for the Month of May, 2021.
Inchoate Art Gallery, On permanent exhibit since April 22'.
Published in “Anthology of Friends,
Vol 7” - from Ovation TV Community (Dec. 2009)
Published in "International Contemporary Artists - Vol. 1" (Oct. 2010)
Published in "International Contemporary Artists - Vol. 2" (Apr. 2011)
Published in "Anthology of Friends, Vol 11" - from Ovation TV Community (May 2011)
e_Published two digital pieces for a week each on
www.ovationtv.com (July 2012)
e_Published in "Best of the Best" Mac Worthington Gallery of
Contemporary Art (July 2012)