Jorge
Posada
Media:
Painting, Sculpture
Studio Location:
Willis II- 43-49 10th Street
Room/Studio#
207
Website:
Artist Bio:
Born in Medellín, Colombia, Jorge Posada is a painter, printmaker and sculptor whose work bridges two worlds. His talent was recognized early: as a young artist, he won the first prize at the prestigious Salon of Young Art at the Antioquia Art Museum in his hometown. Honors soon followed, an award from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Bogotá, an Honorable Mention at the Expresiones Hispanas Art Tour USA, and a feature on Channel 13’s documentary The New Immigrants.
Posada’s public practice is equally powerful. He transformed the Ritz Theater in Elizabeth, New Jersey, with a monumental 1,500-square-foot mural, a testament to his commitment to community and large-scale storytelling.
Since the 1980s, Posada has lived and worked in New York, where his Long Island City studio has become a creative anchor. He serves on the board of the nonprofit LIC Artists and is the founder and curator of the annual LIC Drawing Show, a cornerstone of the local art scene. His work is collected and exhibited internationally, from Europe to South America to the United States, yet it remains deeply rooted in the immigrant experience and the rhythms of urban life.
Artist Statement:
Before starting a new artwork, Posada studies the numerous sketches he continuously creates. These sketches serve as the original visual foundation, not through their literal translation into the final piece, but through the memorized images they leave in his mind.
Posada employs a mixed-media approach, using acrylic, oil and charcoal. To establish the color sequence and overall composition, he relies on the fast and versatile application of acrylics, combined with charcoal to define areas of interest and expression. He finalizes his paintings by applying several layers of color and transparencies, a process that allows him to achieve a rich and subtle finish.
Immersed in the urban environment, his principal source of inspiration is the human being. He is drawn to their presence, anonymous, fragmented, and in constant movement. He explores figures articulated or disarticulated, constrained by real or imagined barriers, concealed within limited spaces, and struggling to escape societal, geographical, or mentally imposed boundaries.
By deliberately working with a monochromatic color palette, Posada aims to reveal a mysterious and unpredictable concert of human forms. For him, painting is an act of manifesting and uncovering the hidden qualities of the human body.
