Erman

Cuban born, Juan Antonio Gonzalez, better known as Erman, has lived in the United States since 1969. After High School and a truncated career in Science, Erman obtained an A.S. in Fashion Design and Merchandising from Miami Dade Community College and in 1979 moved to New York City where he established himself as a fashion designer and illustrator.  In 1991, he was accepted as a resident artist at Art Center South Florida where Ellie Schneiderman, its founder and director, considered his work sculpture. Since then he has had an extensive exhibition record, and has achieved numerous national and international professional accolades. 

Most recently, Erman completed a prestigious fellowship with Sacatar Foundation in Brazil where he shared artist residency space with five International, cross cultural and interdisciplinary artists. Some of the work in this exhibition is evidence of that residency experience. He has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean participating in International Cultural Exchanges and Exhibitions with Diaspora Vibe Gallery. Erman has been invited as guest lecturer to Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and to the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. Erman's work is in the collection of major art collectors.  He has taught children from underserved neighborhoods how to weave, tutored students from I.F.A.C. about Fashion Illustration, has taught seminars around the country on Surface Design techniques and their application in art to wear and is currently an art therapist.  His work in textiles has received many accolades and has been the subject of magazine and newspaper articles in Miami and abroad.  This exhibition Cotando, Cociendo y Recordando curated by Rosie Gordon-Wallace will travel to Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, CO and later to David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University.  Erman is represented by Diaspora Vibe Gallery in Miami, Florida.