Artist Info: Veronica De Jesus
Bio
Veronica De Jesus received her BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 1998 and her MFA from UC Berkeley in 2003. Her 2005 Solo show at the Cue Art Foundation, New York, explored her complex travels during her childhood. Her work has been exhibited at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Samson Projects, Boston; InterReview Projects, Los Angeles; Get This Gallery, Atlanta; Ridley Gallery, Sierra College, Rocklin Ca; and Paper Boat Boutique, Wisconsin. She has also had work published in the Literary Magazine, A Public Space, Brooklyn and Zzyva Magazine, SF. As well recieving reviews in newspapers and magazines such as Art Week, Inter Review, Art Papers, SF Bay Guardian, Sacramento Bee, and the Oakland Tribune of her work. Veronica is currently working on a few projects: Publishing a book for her Memorial Drawings, by the Alone Publishing Company, and will create a Guest Artist T-Shirt Project put out by the Receiver Gallery.
Statement
For most of my life, I’ve felt more stable while traveling, and less secure while living in a home. Throughout my childhood, my dad, older brother and I were constantly on the move. Long-term housing was a fairy tale to me- something on television - an abstract idea rolling in my imagination. Sometimes I would get curious and want to stay put in one place, yet I would never feel comfortable when we would stop to live in cities for months, or even one or two years at a time.
My dad always made our traveling a fun adventure, which helped ameliorate the stressfulness of the moves. For example, he always filled the trunk with fun stuff to play with. We would stop to eat sandwiches and play sports until we were exhausted, or had to hit the road again. Traveling adventures, like our picnics in the park, are still very much alive in me and are still playing back in my memory.
My transitory childhood spilled in to my adult life and my studio practice. I have made most of my art in precarious spaces, such as hallways, porches, benches, trains, buses, cars and while at work. I have primarily used impermanent materials, which I often find while perambulating through cities for hours and miles at a time.
With perseverance, I have managed to live in one state(California) for over 10 years. Even though I still make art on the go, I now appreciate the stability of having a permanent studio. My studio is like an altar of photos, drawings, writings, personal gifts from friends, and random ephemera I have collected through the years. The arrangement of these memory-laden items creates a space where I feel “at home” and grounded. Like the contents of my dad’s trunk, they inspire me to imagine and play, but instead of traveling across the country, I am now traveling inside myself and within the stories of the past. I feel like a tree: I am rooted in one place, yet constant movement, like that of the xylem and phloem inside a tree, exists inside me.
Artist's CV
EXHIBITIONS
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Eleanor Harwood Gallery
“Access Excess”
November 2 - December 6 2007
San Francisco, CA
Get This! Gallery
April 27 - June 2 2007
Atlanta, Ga
CUE ART FOUNDATION
Curated by Squeak Carnwath
Sept 8 – Oct 15 2005
Chelsea Distict, Manhattan
HEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS
“Silk Mountains”
2004
Marin, CA
JENN JOY GALLERY
Solo Show
2000
San Francisco, CA
GROUP SHOWS
2 0 0 7
Ridley Gallery
Veronica De Jesus and Eiko Sugi
Two Person Show
Sierra College
Rocklin, Ca
UC Berkeley
Worth Ryder Gallery
“Faculty Show”
Berkeley, Ca
Eleanor Harwood Gallery
Hot And Cold Massive
San Francisco, Ca
Get This Gallery
“Draw This”
Atlanta, Ga
Paper Boat Boutique
Micaela O’Herlihy and Veronica De Jesus
Milwaukee, Wi
ADM Project
“Other World LA”
Los Angeles, Ca
2 0 0 6
Samson Projects
West Coast Windows
Curated by Oliver Halsman Rosenberg
Boston Ma
Yerba Buena Center For The Arts
“Sampling Oakland”
San Francisco, Ca
Receiver Gallery
“Future Home Life”
San Francisco, Ca
Eleanor Harwood Gallery
“Other Worlds”
San Francisco, Ca
2 0 0 5
LINC ART GALLERY
“Sleight of Hand: the Artist Touch”
Curated by Robin Wright
November 3 – Dec 17
San Francisco, CA
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
Art Auction
May
San Francisco, CA
ADOBE BOOKS
“Memorial Drawings”
Curated by Eleanor Harwood
January
San Francisco, CA
EXHIBITIONS, contd.
2 0 0 4
OAKLAND ART GALLERY
“Continuation”
Curated by Michelle Lopez
Oakland, CA
Clarion Alley Mural Project
“Dogkhat’s Journey” (Mural)
San Francisco, CA
THE POND
“Flags”
Curated by Marissa Jahn
San Francisco, CA
BALAZO GALLERY
Curated by Erin Dengerink-Madarang
“Urban Bird”
San Francisco, CA
TRIPLE BASE GALLERY
“Collectors Edition”
Curated by Crust & Dirt
San Francisco, CA
2 0 0 3
ADOBE BOOKS
“I’m Still Alive”
Curated by Eleanor Harwood
San Francisco, CA
BERKELEY ART MUSEUM
“Far Away Nearby”
Curated by Heidi Jacobsen
Berkeley, CA
EXHIBITIONS, contd
S e l e c t e d S h o w s P r I o r t o 2 0 0 3
JENN JOY GALLERY
“The Last Show”
2001
San Francisco, CA
JEWISH MUSEUM
“Looking Outside In”
1999
San Francisco, CA
JENN JOY GALLERY
“Introductions”
1998
San Francisco, CA
ARTIST COLLABORATIVE GALLERY
“Introductions”
Curated by Fred Daulkey
1995
Sacramento, CA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Art Teacher, UC Berkeley Art Practices Department:
taught an undergraduate beginning drawing course Art 12 for two semesters.
Art Teacher, UC Berkeley Art Practices Department:
taught an undergraduate beginning studio practice course for two semesters.
Art Teacher, The Lighthouse for the Blind & Visually Impaired:
taught general arts and crafts to blind and visually impaired senior citizens.
Assistant Director, Enchanted Hills Camp for the Visually Impaired:
helped coordinate and supervise 23 staff counselors and about 40 campers.
Lead Art Instructor, Enchanted Hills Camp for the Visually Impaired:
conceptualized and taught art classes, purchased supplies and organized the final art show.
Caregiver for ceramic artist, Elva Vergari:
help a blind, deaf artist with her art-making and to communicate with others.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
UC Berkeley, 2003
MFA Sculpture/Installation
San Francisco Art Institute, 1998
BFA Interdisciplinary Studies
AWARDS
2005
Nominated for the SECA Award, San Francisco MOMA
2003
Studio Award, Headlands Center for the Arts
Teachers Recognition Award, UC Berkeley
Eisner Award, UC Berkeley
2002
Eisner Award, UC Berkeley
1998
Special Honors, San Francisco Art Institute
Honors Studio, San Francisco Art Institute
1997
Gamblin Painting Award, San Francisco Art Institute
1995
Kingsley Club Merit Award, Sierra College (Rockland, CA)