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
EDUCATION
UC Berkeley, 2003
MFA Sculpture/Installation
San Francisco Art Institute, 1998
BFA Interdisciplinary Studies
EXHIBITIONS
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
SOLO AND TWO PERSON SHOWS
2009
Do the Waive, Michael Rosenthal Gallery, SF, CA
2008
Dogkhats Journey, WC Gallery, DePere, WI (solo)
2007
Access Excess, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, SF, CA (solo)
Personal Miracles, Get This Gallery, Atlanta, GA (solo)
Asteroids and Miracle Beads, Paper Boat Gallery, Milwaukee WI. (two-person)
Ridley Gallery Sierra College, Rocklin, CA (two-person)
2005
Cue Art Foundation Chelsea District, New York, NY. (solo)
GROUP SHOWS
2009
Zyzzyva Mina Dresden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Faculty Show Worth Ryder Gallery, UC Berkeley, CA
2008
Make the Art You Need, Worth Ryder Gallery(Faculty Show), UC Berkeley, CA
Book It! New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA
Water Project, Thoreau Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
Childish Things, Bocana Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Collaborations, Brown Street Gallery, Napa. CA
Faculty Show, Worth Ryder Gallery UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
2006
Sampling Oakland, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Future Home Life, Receiver Gallery, San Francisco, CA
West Coast Windows, Samson Projects, Boston, MA
2005
Sleight Touch of Hand, Linc Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2004
Continuation, Oakland Art Gallery, Oakland, CA
SELECTED EHXIBITIONS PRIOR TO 2004
Memorial Drawings, Adobe Books Backroom Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2004
Far Away Nearby, Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA 2003
Last Show Jenn Joy Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2001
Looking Outside In, Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA 1999
Introductions, Jenn Joy Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1998
Introductions, Artist Collaborative Gallery Sacramento, CA 1995
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Visiting Lecturer, UC Berkeley Art Practices Department
Lower Level drawing course- Art 12. Spring 2009
Visiting Lecturer, SFAI, Pre College Program
Advanced Line and life drawing Summer Intensive, 2009
Visiting Lecturer, UC Berkeley Art Practices Department
Upper Level drawing course- Art 117. Fall 2008
Visiting Lecturer, UC Berkeley Art Practices Department
Currently teaching an undergraduate beginning drawing course- Art 12.
Visiting Lecturer, UC Berkeley Art Practices Department
I taught an undergraduate beginning studio practice course for two semesters.
Guest Artist Project Leader, SF State Art Education Department
I helped develop and direct art programming for the Colima Project, El Salvador
AWARDS
2008
SECA Finalist, San Francisco, CA.
2003
Headlands Center For the Arts Residency Award, UC Berkeley
Teachers Recognition Award, UC Berkeley
Eisner Award, UC Berkeley
2002
Eisner Award, UC Berkeley
1998
Senior Show Honors Award, San Francisco Art Institute
1997
Gamblin Painting Award, San Francisco Art Institute
Honors Studio Award, San Francisco Art Institute
1995
Kingsley Club Merit Award, Sierra College
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SprayBlog, SF, CA, interview 2009
Alone Company, SF, CA, published book of memorial drawings 2007/8
Access/Excess, SF, CA, hand-made show catalogue 2007
Difficult But Not Impossible, San Diego, CA, Illustrated Cover 2007
Econoculture, Alexandria, VA, interview 2007
A Public Space, Brooklyn, NY, project space 2007
Hot and Cold Massive, Oakland, CA, project space 2007
Cue Art Foundation, New York, NY, exhibition catalogue 2005
Mission Culture, San Francisco, CA, art review 2004
ZYZZYVA, West Coast, project space 1998
Art Week, Los Angeles, CA, art review 2004, 1998
Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, CA, art review 1995