Exhibition Statement

​

These two bronze and wood sculptures explore the relationships between time, memory, and culture. The bronze portraits become vessels for stories, while the wood carries traces of its own identity and history. Seams left by the casting process become scars that reveal experiences buried within the facial expressions. Together, the materials transform memory into tangible visual information and speak to the interconnectedness of our individual and cultural journeys.

 

About the Artist

​

Wilfredo Valladares is an award-winning, internationally recognized artist, educator, and curator. His interdisciplinary practice explores cultural identity, migration, memory, and the intersections of personal and collective histories. Through sculpture, installation, public art, education, and curatorial work, Valladares challenges traditional paradigms of cross-cultural art. His work bridges geographic and cultural boundaries, weaving history, memory, and lived experience into projects that foster connection, dialogue, and a deeper understanding of diverse communities.

Valladares is the founder of Arte Studio 28 and Perspectivas Latinas, initiatives dedicated to promoting and fostering Latinx and Caribbean artists, traditions, and cultures. He is a tenured Full Professor in the Visual Arts Department at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC), where he coordinates the Sculpture Program, and previously served as Visual Arts Academic Chair. Beyond academia, he serves on the Board of the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. He is also the former Board Co-Chair of the American Poetry Museum in Washington, DC, where he continues to serve as Visual Arts Curator.

He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Maryland, College Park; a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art; and a degree in pedagogy from Normal Mixta Matilde Córdova Viuda de Suazo.

Valladares’ international installations include Terzo Millennio (Milan, Italy, 1997) and Near and Far (Daegu, South Korea, 2014). His notable public art commissions include Pétalos Reflejantes (Silver Spring, Maryland, 2009) and Journey: Anacostia (Washington, DC, 2013). He also directed the large-scale mural Cultural Migration in collaboration with the Latin American Art Collective, further advancing community engagement through public art and cross-cultural dialogue. His artwork is held in public and private collections throughout the United States, Latin America, South Korea, and Italy.