Greetings

"6 years ago, I packed 18 years of sunshines into 3 suitcases. It was terrifying.

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My parents drove me to the Tocumen International Airport, in my natal Panama, and I felt their dreams being passed on to me as I walked through TSA. I landed in Houston, for my connecting flight to Louisiana, and I became an immigrant."

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Juan Gallardo Sanchez is a multidisciplinary studio artist based in Wichita, KS.  He is passionate for 2D and 3D animation, projection mapping, sculpture, narrative installations, photography, short films. digital art, and, above all, storytelling.

 

At the age of 18, he migrated to the U.S. to pursue a Bachelor's of Fine Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  In Lafayette, Juan explored introductory techniques withing digital art and sculpture. At the time, he became inclined to narrate stories of immigration through these media. 

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Shortly after earning his BFA, he began pursuing his Master's of Fine Arts at Wichita State University. He expects to graduate in May of 2024. He will be exhibiting his Master's thesis, "no se pa donde voy, pero se de donde vengo", at Harvester Arts, in Wichita, KS, on May 3rd. 

 

 

"My work renders my Latinx Identity unsolvable yet capable of encountering prosperity within the solitude produced by immigration. Through my installations, I expose the remembrance of my culture to political realities that still fear color. My written prose evolves from necessity, not conviction. It is the central pillar of all my work. I write in Spanish because it is my mother tongue, and I can address my work from a sentimental perspective. Literature allows me to find evidence that draws me closer to home through the writings of others. One of my most sincere intentions is to fragment the physical distance between my home with proof that these elements could also exist here through people and other ephemeral substances. The physicality and permanence of these objects make my narratives transcend language."