The Venezuelan self-taught wood sculptor José Belandria is known for his elegant and charming wooden figures which have been popular with collectors and museums for decades, both in Venezuela and abroad. Working in his shed next to his house in Mérida in the Venezuelan Andes, every day Belandria brings to life historical and religious characters relevant to his community, as well as characters from every-day life, especially women in their finery, jewelry and fashionable footwear. Belandria was prominently featured in the American Folk Art Museum’s 1992 blockbuster exhibition:”Visiones del Pueblo – The Folk Art of Latin America”. In the catalog, exhibition curator Marion Oettinger writes that these colorful figures “are carved and decorated …in a manner unlike that of any of this colleagues in Mérida. Belandria’s trademarks are elegance of form, articulated arms, … greatly oversized hands, and finely rendered facial features. Also setting him apart from other folk carvers in the area is his use of crayon, which he manages very effectively.”

 

José Belandria’s work is included in the late photographer and collector Mariano Diaz’ book documenting Venezuela’s folk sculptors: “El Alma entre los Dedos”.