We were lucky to catch up with Jose Urbina recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jose, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
My earliest memories are of living in Guatemala City. There, concrete and corrugated metal panels made up my home and all the buildings around me. Among the chaos of street vendors, passing cars, and signage, I felt safe.
When my family immigrated to just outside New York City, I found a quiet place to play, explore, and think in the small wooded areas around my home. However, I still longed for the bustling city that was my first home. These seemingly conflicting feelings developed into an awe of the natural world and, at the same time, an excitement for the urban landscape. This feeling can be summed up by the way a tree can lift the sidewalk around it, growing until the concrete and roots seem to become one, creating a unique place in unfamiliar surroundings. I wanted to express these feelings visually and felt that sculpture was the ideal medium, as it allowed me to create the textures, colors, and shapes I observed around me.
Jose, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As a visual artist, I explore the landscape and our relationship with the natural world through plastic. This ubiquitous, shapeshifting material enables innovation yet contributes to environmental degradation – a double-edged sword. By exploring this material in its different forms and applications, I invite viewers to reconsider the landscape in our modern, consumption-driven era. What defines the landscape when our reliance on technology is even shaping the world around us? In my work, I highlight how plastic’s infinite malleability metaphorically represents our capacity to mold our surroundings positively or negatively.
My work confronts plastic’s duality – seductive yet destructive, ingenious yet hazardous. Challenging traditional landscape perspectives, I confront viewers with an inescapable modern reality.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Rejection has been a familiar companion in my journey as an artist, constantly seeking new opportunities in shows and grants. . After two years of persistence, I was thrilled to finally be invited. The timing couldn’t have been better, as that year’s jurors were highly esteemed in the art world, offering my work exposure it might not have otherwise received. Furthermore, the show’s change in venue led to my debut in a museum setting, marking a monumental milestone in my artistic career.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Navigating the art world felt overwhelming at first. Despite my time in art school, there was little discussion about the business side of being an artist or understanding how the market worked. When I began my professional art practice, I had to dive into extensive research to bridge these knowledge gaps.
Two books that were particularly transformative for me were “How to Be a Successful Artist” by Magnus Resch and “Art/Work” by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber. These books provided crucial insights, teaching me how to approach galleries, understand how galleries select artists, and identify the key players in the art market. Additionally, I’ve listened to dozens of inspiring podcasts that have continuously helped me better understand the art world as a whole.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Joserurbina.com
- Instagram: Joserurbina_
