“In his chromatically rich and densely populated compositions, Gerardo Rosales tackles social injustice through humor and playfulness. Drawing from his own multicultural experience, he weaves together multiple elements taken from popular imagery and tales to highlight issues of abuse and oppression, laying bare the power structures that dominate in our societies.” – juror Frauke Josenhans, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Dora Maar Cultural Center

“Rosales’ works across painting, ceramics, sculpture, mural arts, and performance, reclaim a space of freedom in artistic practice by drawing a line between Western Art History and formerly ‘lesser’ craft-based traditions from other parts of the world, rebalancing the equation of who is addressed and who is overlooked within the public realm.” – juror Pia Singh, Independent Curator

Gerardo Rosales (USA, born Venezuela) is a Houston-based artist whose work explores identity, memory, and social justice through richly patterned and symbolic compositions. Beginning as a self taught artist and later studying in Caracas and London, he has developed a multidisciplinary practice recognized across Latin America and the United States. He has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, with recent highlights including Fable Chaser at Nara Roesler in Rio de Janeiro and the performance Looking for a Hero at Untitled Art Fair Houston.

Gerardo Rosales’s artistic practice engages with social issues through personal experience and cultural memory, examining themes of identity, gender, class, race, power, and the environment shaped by his upbringing in Venezuela and his life as an immigrant in the United States. Drawing on mythology, nature, and everyday life, he explores the dynamics of human existence while balancing tension and playfulness to encourage reflection, empathy, and dialogue. Inspired by domestic objects and natural forms, Rosales uses ornament, color, and pattern to create layered compositions that evoke irony, curiosity, and shared meaning.