Artist Statement
"Text, pattern and the image are fused into works stretching the definition of ethnicity.

My work is an exploration of cultural roots through a strategy of self-imposed mismatches. The expression of my Filipino American heritage remains a constant, but I manipulate and remix this identity through new contexts. I intentionally work far from home to find new geographies, histories and languages. My attempts at assimilation force both a change in
perspective as well as a reinforcement of held beliefs and values. The tension between the inherited and the constructed activates my work.

In recording the experience of these artificial insertions into foreign cultures, the work takes the form of a book. By using glass as the medium upon which the information is printed, I am able to compose and rearrange content to create new visual statements. Complex readings of the image are made possible through fusion, transparency and optics.

The newest body of work is a graphic response to recent explorations in the Baltic States, a rapidly developing region where reminders of the Soviet occupation exist as crumbling concrete and steel facades. These forms are re-presented as glass sculptures that utilize kilnforming and digital cutting for sharp and angular architectural interpretations. Through the refinement of works derived from old Soviet forms, the work signals a new cultural
perspective for the artist as well as a celebration of a new era in Baltic society.

Through the collection of language, culture and history, I express the density, richness, and growth of my experience."

Jeffrey Sarmiento
2008

Spotlight N/A

Exhibitions

Awards

Education