User:John De Jesus (Artist)

Art
John De Jesus's art is a contemporary spin on an old tradition. Dia De Los Muertos or “day of the dead”. What others would see as just a chunk of wood, he sees an opportunity to make art. He carves into a solid piece of wood using a set of finely honed chisels. He starts off by sketching it out on the piece of wood, and then gets rid of the negative space.

Biography
John was born in 1969, in the Bronx, New York. He spent a lot of his youth between the streets of the city and his family’s farm in Puerto Rico. Passing the time on airplanes by reading comic books and playing with action figures. Dreaming that someday he might draw and design his own toys. One can imagine, that being bounced around like that, he quickly learned the value of being multi-cultural.

He spent a lot of time with his grandparents. Those who know him from his youth would say that he was highly influenced by his early exposure to the garment district in New York. Both his grandfathers were tradesmen there. His Dad’s father was a pattern maker and worked for some of the most respected names in fashion. His mother’s father owned a trucking company that delivered the final product to runway shows and showrooms.

Lets not forget the ladies… His mother and grandmother were professional seamstresses and more often than not, He spent a lot of time on the production floor, running odd jobs and fetching “parts” of one design or another from different floors. He may not have realized it then but that became his “dream factory.” The place where he would read comics, draw pictures, and make cardboard and wire sculptures.

In the early nineteen eighties his family relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. What an opportunity! Once living here, he became immersed in the cultural melting pot. Being of Hispanic decent, he felt right at home and realized that his passion was art. He attended The College of Santa Fe for two years in the visual arts program and then life as it often does, made other plans for him. He moved back to Albuquerque where he earned his degree in business management.

For over a decade now, he has been a free-lance sculptor with some of the largest and most renowned toy companies. He has had the pleasure of sculpting and breathing life into some of the most famous and recognizable comic characters in the world, but for him there was still something missing. With the undying support from his family he was encouraged to finally go out and find his own voice.

As you can see, he created his own original artwork, and it is a mixture of techniques and experiences that he has learned along the way. He has spent the last 20 years being privileged enough to live in Alb/Santa Fe. His work is a reflection and tribute to the cultures and people that have embraced him. So maybe that’s why his Dia De Los Muertos Carvings look like they grace fashion week and his Spanish colonial work is a tribute to my Hispanic roots. His ancestors’ that sailed from Spain, to Puerto Rico, Flew to New York and his Parents that drove over 2,000 miles to help him achieve him dreams.