Henry Bermudez

Henry Bermudez | January 16 - December 13, 2026

Opening Reception and Artist Talk: January 16, 6-8 pm

Site-specific installation in Gallery 110

Artist Statement
As an Afro-Venezuelan living in the US today, I use my paintings to explore how cultures merge and create mythologies to shape the way history is told. My work resists categorization and challenges dualities, embracing a hybrid of Pre-Columbian, Judeo-Christian, and Afro-Caribbean myths and symbols. I'm opening a dialogue between the outside world and our subconscious—a universe made of dreams, intertwined symbols, mythological creatures, and zoomorphic vegetation. 

In this world between reality and the fantastical, everything is counterbalanced with an equal and opposite force. Mesoamerican and Indigenous cultures simultaneously exist within, alongside, and in contrast to the colonial world. I render organic flora and fauna with a baroque lushness, but I temper it with the firmness of line and geometric structure drawn from Concrete Art. When I reference ancient mythologies within my imagery, I confront contemporary myths about colonial "discovery," Western dominance, and our ideas of progress.

Throughout my work, I merge these cultures with the exuberance of nature and magical realism. Whether I'm painting, cutting paper, or creating murals, the jungle consistently emerges as a sacred and omnipresent force in my practice. For over fifty years, I've been driven by a singular goal: merging distinct cultures and fusing them into a unified visual language. My work speaks from the crossroads of European Renaissance painting, Pre-Columbian iconography, and Judeo-Christian influences. It offers a space where multiple worlds converge and coexist.