BIO
Verny Sanchez is a Venezuelan/Spanish/American artist whose creative practices include painting, installations, assemblages, drawing and sculpture. His work, which is constructed on a continuum between abstraction and representation, explores themes of expression, communication and emotion in compositions that often blend the real and the imaginary. A distinctive pictorial language, first inspired by the ancient petroglyphs he encountered as a youth in Venezuela, has become a unique vernacular in his work that hints at an ongoing quest for identification through visual dialogue.
Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in 1973, Verny earned a degree in graphic design at the Instituto de Diseño de Caracas, where he later returned to lead the graphic design program as Director. He has also held teaching posts at The Altos de Chavón School of Design in the Dominican Republic, the Centro de Diseño Digital de Caracas in Venezuela, and the European Design Institute in Madrid, Spain.
Verny lived in Spain for 12 years, six of which he spent as an artist-in-residence at La Escocesa, a self-managed visual artistic production center in Barcelona. His work has been exhibited in solo shows in Barcelona and Caracas, as well as in group shows in New York, Miami, Houston, Austin, Caracas, and Barcelona, Spain. His work is held in private collections across the United States, Europe, and Latin America.
Verny currently lives in Houston, Texas, where he works out of his studio in the heart of the Washington Arts District.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Human emotional communication is often convoluted, multi-faceted, and in some cases, perverse. My work explores the emotional language of people—it is a quest for connection and communication through visual dialogue. My work is heavily influenced by petroglyphs I first saw as a child growing up in Venezuela, while camping with the Boy Scouts. To me, glyphs (petroglyphs), as they are commonly called, represent a simple but effective form of emotional language that transcend modern barriers to communication. Based on these glyphs, my work explores the relationship of visual language to modern linguistics and emotional interactions. My work can best be summarized as a search for balance in the chaos that is communication in the modern world. All these ideas come from intuitive realization processes.
In the abstract works that comprise my “Glyph” series, I try to give petroglyphs a new life. I use heightened multi-chromatic color and fluidity of movement in an attempt to evoke the competing feelings of chaos, complete stillness, and ultimately, balance. In my later “Homoglyphic” series, I push the limits of my earlier work by introducing interconnected human figures into the more abstract structure of the “Glyph” series. My introduction of the figurative style into abstract artistic language represents the evolution of communication through interconnection and the simplification of key emotional messages.
My current work seeks to expand and explore the boundaries of my existing creations, in an attempt to further engage the viewer in a timeless dialogue.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2014
• "Derivaciones Glíficas", Espai M Barcelona, Spain
2013
• "Transiciones Glíficas", Espai M
Barcelona, Spain
1995
• "Encuentro de Seres", Curated by Gallery Arriart Caracas, Venezuela
"
_Seres de Ciudad", Curated by Gallery Arriart Caracas, Venezuela
1994
• "Seres y Glifos", Curado by Gallery Arriart Caracas, Venezuela
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
• Diversity and Richness (LAN program), Sawyer Yards, Texas, USA
2018
• Hispanic Heritage Month, City Hall of Houston, Texas, USA
• Dimension, HAM Harrisburg Art Museum, Houston, Texas, USA
2017
• The Big Show, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas, USA
• HUE Houston Mural Festival
Houston, Texas, USA
2016
• HUE Houston Mural Festival
Houston, Texas, USA
• Stated "Group exhibition "Curated by Valentina Atkinson Houston, Texas, USA
• Collective Perception "Group exhibition Curated by Gordon Brown", Texas,USA
2015
• The Mural project WINNER exhibit "organized by Muir Gallery" City Center
Houston, Texas, USA
2015
• The Mural Project "Group exhibition organized by Muir Gallery" Houston,Texas, USA
2014
• Comfort Zone "Group exhibition organized by Mike Swaney" - Espai M Barcelona, Spain
• Extraradi - Group exhibition organized by Casa Elizalde - Casa Elizalde Barcelona, Spain
2013
• Anual, Residentes de la Escocesa - Espacio M
Barcelona, Spain
2012
• Anual, Residentes de la Escocesa - Espacio M
Barcelona, Spain
2010
• La Escocesa Amb El Barri "Group exhibition curated by Veronique Serfass"- Centre Cívic Can Felipa Barcelona, Spain
• Inmigración 1.0 (grupo Entropía, artista Invitado) - Tinglado N1-
Tarragona, Spain
2009
• Art Basel Miami Beach - Aqua Wynwood - Cancio Contemporary Miami, FL - USA
2008
• The Affordable Art Fair New York City - Cancio Contemporary Miami, FL - USA
• Step by Step Foundation - Durban Segnini Gallery
Miami, FL - USA
2000
• Salón Shell - Museo Sacro de Caracas
Caracas, Venezuela
1998
• II Bienal Soroptimist en el sector
IV Salón Primavera - Museo Sacro de Caracas
Caracas, Venezuela
1997
• XXVIII Salón Lagoven - Sala de Exposiciones
Caracas, Venezuela
1995
• XXVI Salón Lagoven - Sala de Exposiciones
Caracas, Venezuela
1994
• XXV Salón Lagoven - Sala de Exposiciones
Caracas, Venezuela
1993
• I Bienal Soroptimist en el sector
Salón Primavera - Galería del Circulo Militar
Caracas, Venezuela
• I Exposición SOVENIA - Centro Social y Cultural El Hatillo Caracas, Venezuela
1992
• XXIII Salón Lagoven - Sala de Exposiciones
Caracas, Venezuela
AWARDS
2015
• Best Mural,The Mural Project_City Center
1998
• Honorable Mention in Painting Certamen IV Salón Primavera Caracas, Venezuela
1995
• Winner Fundación de los Trabajadores de Lagoven
Caracas, Venezuela
Catalogues and Books
• Diversity and Richness 2019
• Exhibition Catalogues "The Big Show" 2017
• Catàleg d ́Artists Residents La Escocesa 2014
