SCULPTING THE UNSPOKEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH VERONICA ROMANO

In the busy heart of Buenos Aires, a child named Veronica was born. From the very start, she was enchanted by the city’s juxtaposition of grandeur and decay, where the monumental met the impermanent.

As Veronica grew, she became a seeker of fragments, gathering broken tiles from forgotten courtyards, shards of glass that glimmered like secrets, the remnants of stories left untold. The world spoke to her through these fragments, promising that within every crack lay a portal to new dimensions.

Her talents are now recognized far and wide, as she shares her visions in galleries, museums, and art fairs across the lands, enchanting audiences with her ability to bring the unseen to life.

But Veronica’s true magic lay not just in her creations but in her ethos, for she believes that the fragment is not a loss but a gateway – a shimmering key to the worlds yet to be imagined. 

Today, her story continues, as she crafts new worlds from the fragments of old, reminding us that within every piece, no matter how small or broken, lies a universe waiting to unfold.

The JI: How would you describe your art to someone who has never seen it before? 

Veronica: I am a sculptor, and my artistic practice focuses on bringing forth forms and images that explore traces of the unconscious. Presences, either alone or as part of installations, shape the space as a stage for a narrative. Animals, plants, fragments of bodies make up a recurring repertoire in my work. Pieces where notions of academic sculptural tradition coexist with elements derived from the informal statuary of suburban gardens in my country.

I practice a patient distortion of form, oscillating between recognition and strangeness. The fragment and the part repeatedly appear in my work. I am interested in the fragment's ability to express absence while simultaneously encompassing the whole. Giving space to what is absent, to the unspoken, to silence.

I have trained in working with metals, particularly focusing on the process of bronze casting through the lost-wax method. In my pieces, white opaque surfaces alternate with frosted and polished sections where the metal shines reflectively.

The JI: Which sculpture would you choose to show them?

Veronica: I would choose my piece Owl – enameled bronze with a mirror-polished section, in an edition of 3 – as a sample of my practice.

The JI: Where do you want your art to bring you? And what do you want to bring to people with your art?

Veronica: I would love for my art to reach everywhere! To inhabit museums, cultural and educational centers, urban public spaces… and also to reach the intimacy of a home.

I feel part of a social fabric that breathes and continually expands. With my art, I want to offer connection, reflection, and empathy.

I believe that art has the power to touch and move us beyond understanding. It reaches a very intimate place within each of us, creating a sense of unity and belonging. We are not alone; we are part of a large group that embraces us and with whom we share in diversity.

The JI: Tell us more about your masks: what do they represent to you?

Veronica: The mask is a ritual element in different cultures. It can protect like a shield, imbue certain attributes of power, give an identity, or hide an identity…

Identity is formed by the sum of various layers: those from our origins and those we add through our actions. 

Identity is dynamic. It is built through interaction with others and changes in encounters with the other.

I believe in the energy of dance, of movement as expression and liberation. To dance is to enter into a virtuous movement with your community to face situations without losing joy. This piece, the mask, reflects and explores identity and the importance of rituals in confronting life and generating change.

The JI: Could you share a glimpse of your daily routine? What inspires your creativity and drives your productivity?

Veronica: My daily routine begins with a good coffee. 

I like to have breakfast alone, observing the garden from the kitchen window. It’s my moment to connect with the day’s energy. 

In the morning, I walk to the gym, run errands, and shop for the family. I live in a huge city, Buenos Aires, but my neighborhood is leafy, with many birds, cobbled streets, and quite a few low houses that allow me to see the sky. I never get tired of walking around; I always find something new.

The city, the architecture, how people interact with their environment to inhabit it, inspire me. What elements they choose to beautify their houses, their gardens. What they discard or recycle. I am always finding treasures.

In my work, elements from the architecture of the neighborhoods where I live and grew up are very present. In my city, buildings from different periods and styles coexist, forming a very special blend. This architectural diversity reflects the melting pot that we are as a society, made up of waves of immigrants from various origins.

Some afternoons, I go to my studio. I need solitude when working in the studio. Only music or the radio accompanies me. I can spend hours modeling, molding, testing installations, drawing… or simply moving through that limbo that touches the unconscious, trying to capture and give form to that impression, that shadow or silhouette that appears insistently from the depths of my psyche, yearning to exist.

If I’m casting pieces, I go to the foundry to work with the whole team. My daily work varies a lot depending on the projects I’m immersed in. I might have meetings with my gallerist or encounters with curators. I could be working on presentations or in the archive. Visiting exhibitions, checking out a studio, or meeting with a student.

I am always participating in collective projects. I am motivated by exchange, crossovers, and collaborations with artists from different disciplines. I am part of Editorial Excursiones, a project involving visual arts and literature. Along with Yerua Taller, we are part of a network of workshops in the La Gran Paternal neighborhood. I believe collaborative work is essential for growth and expansion.

In the evening, we gather as a family for dinner. My husband is a painter, my oldest son is a history student, and my youngest son is dedicated to music. Sharing life with them is my greatest inspiration.

The JI: The art world is changing. Many now see it as a business or investment. How do you perceive the current state of art?

Veronica: The world is changing, and so is the art world… all mixed up in savage capitalism. However, I believe there’s something about artistic practice, that drive to express and reach the other, that remains alive and finds cracks through which it can escape, grow, and generate positive changes in the least expected places.

The JI: What do you dream about nowadays? 

Veronica: I dream of a future that includes us all, with a kinder and more peaceful world.

The JI: What do you believe in? 

Veronica: I firmly believe that the way forward is COLLECTIVE.