Reinaldo Sanguino was born in Caracas, Venezuela (1973). He graduated in 1993 from the School of Visual
Arts Cristobal Rojas in Caracas, in the concentration program of ceramics. After graduating he relocated to
New York City from where he currently works and lives. He has exhibited in both one-person and group
shows throughout the United States and Latin America. Sanguino is the recipient of national and
international grants-award and has participated in artist in residency programs throughout the United States.
He was the 2007 nominee for the prestigious Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award and was one of the
artists participating in the El Museo Del Barrio 5th edition 2007-2008 Biennale "The (S) Files" in New York
City. His work is included in numerous major private collections as well as the permanent collections
including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX, MINT Museum, Charlotte NC, Museum and the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis MN.
Sanguino’s work is currently included in exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the MINT
Museum Charlotte NC.

ARTIST STATEMENT
New York – Kuwait City, 2012
Based on the pratice of using Meissen Porcelain as diplomatic exchange gifts by European Courts during
the eighteenth century, this body of work is a contemporary and personalized reexamination of the
diplomatic gift exchange tradition as form of realationship building. The exhibition highlights the role
ceramics played in gift exchanges to form relationships, and Sanguino creates groups of ceramic works that
range from utilitarian shapes—pitchers, bowls, plates, cups, containers, etc.—to decorative forms such as
vessels, sculptures, and figurines. The ceramics are simple shapes and have little to no recognizable
imagery; instead the surfaces are abstract and graffiti-like with elements of collage and assemblage.
Organized into groups based on type, the ceramics will be displayed on wooden shipping crates at different
levels to resemble the unloading of shipping cargo.
Over the past twenty years, Sanguino has collected miscellaneous items that were given to him, including
greeting cards, gifts, souvenirs, photos, and clothes. With the passage of time, these items have gained
significance and have become his personal memorabilia, documenting specific moments from these years of
his life. As a whole, the collection represents the many and diverse relationships he formed during this time,
and the objects, therefore, are the material manifestation of the meanings of these relationships. The
objects are some of his most prized possessions, making them an ideal source of inspiration for this body of
work.
To create the ceramics, Sanguino scans and digitally preserves the original items then sorts them by kind
and color to print them on malleable material. The malleable material is then applied—in the form of woven
rope, collage, and assemblage—to the ceramic surfaces. The adhesion of the material to the ceramics adds
color and texture to the works, challenging the traditional appearance of ceramics. With their amalgamation
of references to gifts he received displayed on the surfaces, the works become Sanguino’s personal artifacts
and testimonials to his relationships with others.
In order to commemorate the relationships that inspired the body of work, every piece from the exhibition will
be digitally catalogued and posted on a web page or blog where basic personal information about the
maker/giver and acquirer/recipient will be recorded.
A graduate of the School of Visual Arts Cristobal Rojas in Caracas, Venezuela, Sanguino specialized in
ceramics during his studies there. This body of work demonstrates his exploration of the medium and its

capacity for personalization and ability to memorialize meaningful moments in his life