Nancy Saleme
Artist Statement

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
2020Artist in Residence at Children’s Museum of Manhattan Residency, New York City, NY
2019Public Art Commission, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Community Mural Project, Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, NY
2018Public Art Commission, Garment District Alliance Public Art Program and DOT NYC “Urban Garden”, New York, NY
2017UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant, City of New York Parks & Recreation
2016Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, Johnson, Vermont
2015Puffin Foundation Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ