Samuel Sarmiento

Born 1987, Venezuela Samuel Sarmiento is a Venezuelan artist who lives and works in Aruba. In 2010, he received a Master's in Artistic Production at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. He has participated in various individual and collective exhibitions in The Netherlands, the United States, Spain, Greece, Aruba, Venezuela, Argentina, and China. Sarmiento’s body of work consists primarily of painted ceramics. His pieces evoke the functional tradition of ceramics through their forms, which often resemble plates and bowls; however, they are gilded, richly ornate with anthropomorphic molding and delicate drawn detail. Sarmiento is inspired by historical and allegorical narratives of identity, migration, and reproducibility. The artist explains: "My work is very connected to oral tradition, especially from the Caribbean and South America. I am fascinated by the symbols and archetypes used in these (hi)stories and how they can relate to other cultures. These stories return us to our roots.” Sarmiento has participated in artistic residencies such as The Bakehouse Art Complex Residency Program (Miami, USA), Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts Residency Program (Maine, USA), Caribbean Linked VI - Ateliers 89 (Oranjestad, Aruba) and BijlmAIR artist in residence program organized by CBK Zuidoost (Amsterdam, NL) with the support of Bradwolff Projects and Stedelijk Museum. In 2022, he was Yaddo Corporation’s artist in residence (Saratoga Springs - NY, USA), a program with a long history that has had among its attendees Clyfford Still, Truman Capote, Philip Guston, Helen Frankenthaler and David Foster Wallace.