Sebastián Vallejo
Born in 1982, San Juan, PR. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
(Profile picture by: Nicole Haddad)
DESCRIPTION
Sebastian Vallejo's works are inspired by the energy and light of the Caribbean. The presence of this elements and the way they interact naturally in his natal Puerto Rico, inspire his creations of abstract color explosions, vivid palm trees and flowers. He uses a technique in which the color of garbage bags and fabrics is transferred to the canvas with touches of spray paint.
Artist's Statement
My paintings describe the aesthetic relation between organic and inorganic forms and its visual and cultural implications. The paintings are inspired by the expansive and improvisational qualities that exist in nature and by the light and colors of the Caribbean where the light seems to emanate from almost any direction, sometimes even from the ground. This is especially true in Puerto Rico, where I was born and raised. The materiality of painting amplifies light and form, and by extension all natural phenomena it attempts to capture. The paintings deal with notions of beauty and the sublime by adopting and sometimes exaggerating caribbean clichés and Romantic tropes in traditional painting; pushing the boundaries inherent in the genre of painting while simultaneously celebrating its history.
EDUCATION
2009
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MFA
Painting and Drawing Dept.
2007
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Painting and Drawing Dept.
2004
University of Puerto Rico, BFA.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016
In Search of Asphodels. Cuevas Tilleard Gallery, NY.
"Paramnesia". Arsenal de la Marina Española, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Sebastián Vallejo. Volta Art Fair NY. Cuevas Tilleard Gallery, NY.
2014
“Taquicardia”, Recinto Cerra, Santurce PR
2013
“Salvoconducto”, ÁREA: Lugar de Proyectos, Caguas, PR
2012
“Salvoconducto”, The Active Space Gallery, New York, NY
“Mark Making: Sketches from Bushwick”,Trailer Park Proyects,San Juan, PR
2011
"Methodic Chaos", METRO: plataformaorganizada, San Juan, PR
2010
"Lüx", Lloyd Dobler Gallery, Chicago, IL
2007
"Made in Chicago", ÁREA: Lugar de Proyectos, Caguas, PR.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017
Spring Temper. Godel Fine Art. New York.
2016
Material. National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, Chicago.
2015
Today is the Day. Paddle8 auction. Untiled (Taquicardia Series), 2014.
Estado: experiencia fragmentada. Museo de Arte de Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Hot Town. Cuevas-Tilleard Gallery, N.Y. July 15, 2015.
"Muestra Nacional de las Artes Plásticas, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, P.R.
"Group Exhibition", Zawahra Alejandro at Con Artist Collective, Lower East Side, NY
2014
“By the Pleasure of Doing”, Espacio 20/20, Santurce, PR
“Super Macho”, The Active Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2012
“Friends with Benefits”, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, NY
“Concrete Illusions: Public and Private Spaces in Puerto Rico” Clemente Soto Velez, New York, NY.
AWARDS
2009
Union League Civic and Art Foundation, Chicago, IL
2008
The Art Institute of Chicago Community Associates Scholarship