Jorge Luis Bernal is an artist working, living, and creating in the Washington D.C. area. He was born in Havana, raised in Jersey City, and schooled in Miami, where he later practiced and taught architecture. Bernal’s work is inspired by a variety of interests: the exhilaration of color, texture and space, fragmenting architectural images, and interpreting human emotions. Most recently he has been exploring religious themes, borrowing from religious texts to explore the many facets of spirituality. Bernal’s aesthetic is heavily influenced by the works of Kandinsky, Gottlieb, and Rothko, which is especially visible in his latest explorative medium, encaustic painting and sculpture.

Studies
2001 Master’s in Architecture- Virginia Tech
1987 BFA Ceramics & Art History- Florida International University
1972 Architecture- University of Miami

Continuing Education – Workshops & Conferences:*
2012 6th National Encaustic, Conference Provincetown, MA
2012 ART- Critiques Katie Dell Kauffman, Tacoma Park
2011 5th National Encaustic, Conference Provincetown, MA
2011 Encaustics Next Level, Kim Bernard North Berwick, Maine
2011 Encaustic Going Large, Ellen Koment, Santa Fe
2010 4th National Encaustic, Conference Beverly, MA
2010 Cuban Architecture- IX Annual Congress, NYC
2010 Encaustic Monotypes- Paula Roland Workshop, Santa Fe
2010 Design & Architecture- Harvard GSD, Cambridge
2010 ART- Critiques Katie Dell Kauffman, Tacoma Park

Awards*
2012 CHAL May Juried Show “Not Alone” Honorable Mention Award. Juror Marsha Staiger
2012 RAL Members May Juried Show
First Place, Lenny Campello
2011 RAL Members December Juried Show
First Place, Juror Chawky Frenn
2011 CHAL October Show ” The Art of Craft” Juried Show Honorable Mention, Juror Steve Fleming.
2011 CHAL September Juried Show
First Place, “Mating Season” . Juror Pam Rogers
2011 Kensington Armory Juried Art Show, Honorable Mention
Juror Plaza Art
2011 CHAL May Juried Show “Coming Home” Honorable Mention Award. Juror Jack Rasmussen
2011 RAL Members May Juried Show
Best in Show, Juror Jose Dominguez
2011 VA Art League 2011 Patron’s Show
Honorable Mention Juror Marsha Staiger