I have been fortunate to live a life enjoying its full creative potential. From being a textile designer for industrial manufacturing in Caracas to becoming a sculptor in New York City and mastering the odds as a professional visual display designer, these experiences are embedded and continuously influenced my art-making. As a result, my artwork is made in a broad spectrum of materials and techniques such as resin, latex, fiberglass, wood, ink, acrylics and permanent markers. I combine all these materials to create drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, interventions, and public art. My art is a visual testimony of my existence and reveals personal experiences, sensitivities, and worries.
I often incorporate my handwriting into my work as a visual element. It is a unique unreadable script that alludes to my Latin-Arabic heritage. For instance, my piece "DeFence: The Installation, 2015 depicts images of migrants laborers on a wooden fence. Next to it, a luxurious table but formal and cold is placed, where I laid plates and cutlery decorated with the script. I use the text to depict hidden sentiments and secrets in a public setting, and the words carry bits of phrases that act as diaries, lamentations, or unsent letters--traces of nostalgia that all migrants bring with us.
In recent years, public art has captivated my passion. I found the perfect ground where I can physically and mentally invest myself in challenging projects. Projects such as giants sparrows sculptures for the Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, NY or the 80-foot 3D mural for Howard Bennett Playground in Harlem, NY or the 400-foot long road mural for the Garment District of New York City in Broadway and lastly the 28-foot 3D mural cityscape for the Mead Public Library in Sheboygan, WI. All these works were carefully planned, sketched, executed and conceived.
Artist Web Site https://nancysaleme.wixsite.com/nancy-saleme-art |
| Works & History | |
| 2020 | Artist in Residence at Children’s Museum of Manhattan Residency, New York City, NY |
| 2019 | Public Art Commission, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Community Mural Project, Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, NY |
| 2018 | Public Art Commission, Garment District Alliance Public Art Program and DOT NYC “Urban Garden”, New York, NY |
| 2017 | UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant, City of New York Parks & Recreation |
| 2016 | Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, Johnson, Vermont |
| 2015 | Puffin Foundation Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ |



