Jiménez Deredia

Deredia graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara and between 1980 and 1986 he attended the Faculty of Architecture at Florence University. The perception of a globalized dimension of ‘being’ and the universe, forming the basis of his vision of life, developed and deepened thanks to a conscious return to the origins of his own country. In his work, he started to reflect the extraordinary creative influence received by observing the monumental granite spheres, produced by the pre-Columbian civilization of the Borucas. Those artifacts of mysterious primordial strength moved the sculptor towards studies of shape and material, as well as the function and symbology derived from the sphere and circle.

By taking on the artist name “Deredia” (a contraction of “de Heredia” or “originating from Heredia”), the artist’s conscious return to his origins was underlined at that time as the source of his creative and philosophical inspiration.

In 1999, the Fabbrica di San Pietro commissioned the sculptor to produce a statue of San Marcelino Champagnat, which would be placed in one of the huge scale Michelangelo niches situated along the external perimeter of the basilica’s left transept. The sculpture was inaugurated by Pope John Paul II in the year of the Grand Jubilee and with this work Deredia became the first Latin American artist to present one of his works within the center of the Catholic world: The Vatican.

Throughout his 47-year career, Deredia has created monumental works for museums, external environments and public institutions in sixteen different countries across Europe, America and Asia. He has held 50 personal exhibitions and over 100 collective exhibitions worldwide.