I am a Venezuelan artist running from a corrupted system building narratives through total installations using experimental materials. I create drawings and sculptures that address labor, totalitarianism, mental health, and immigration. I create immersive experiences by expanding on my classical training in painting and sculpture, using inexpensive materials to highlight the abilities of low-income to create meaningful work. I do not aspire to make my art beautiful, but rather be on-going investigations that respond to the human condition. My artworks are portraits of humanity; like life, the objects age, disappear, or dissolve. We die, so the work should die too.

As a Venezuelan child, I was surrounded by war since my early childhood: cars set on fire, abuse of power, Molotov and tear gas bombs, tanks, guns, military lockdowns, hunger, and fear. These experiences have left impressions that come out as broken lines and emotionally-charged use of color and objects, allowing the spectator to understand and see the deformity of people under the disasters of failed socio-political systems.

I create environments filled with objects like sculptures, drawings, and paintings that resemble the human figure. My work forces the spectator to consider his movements through the installation, posing questions of his relationship within the art. If I’m commenting on a tense situation like protests or the abuse of power, the spectator feels tense while walking through tight, foreboding spaces; or if I’m addressing a delicate condition like the undocumented workers, the movement in the space requires soft steps so as not to break the carefully arranged plates of food.  

Being honest and visceral, my work alters the day-to-day of the spectator to stimulate questions about our humanity, power, and mental health which are hidden under the overload of information that distracts us from ourselves daily. My work aims to connect people deeply with their own humanity and the humanity of others.  

A. Galue