By Maryangela Layman Román, Catholic Herald Staff

MILWAUKEE — In his native Venezuela, painter and sculptor Denny Nava is known as “the man of the angels.” Hearing the story of how this unknown shopkeeper rocketed into national recognition in his country after his artistic talent was discovered, leaves the impression there may have been some angelic intervention in his life.

Twelve years ago, Nava worked in an all-purpose store in his tiny town of Borojo, located in the state of Falcon in a desert area near the northwest coast of Venezuela.

A high school dropout – forced to leave school to support his family – Nava, 40, dreamed of expressing his inner feelings through art. Speaking in Spanish with the aid of interpreter Zulay Oszkay, Latino Arts artistic director, Nava described to your Catholic Herald his love and appreciation for angels and the Virgin Mary, key figures in his devoutly Catholic family.

One day, without any formal training, Nava took a piece of wood and crafted his first angel.

“I made what I saw inside because of my faith,” he described. “I made it to let my feelings inside out.” Pleased with his effort, Nava displayed it in his home for visitors to see and share.

After seeing it, a friend contacted Dora Lugo, then Museo de Arte de Coro director, and said she must come to this remote village and see what Nava was making.

Lugo, who was also in Milwaukee for the opening of Nava’s Dec. 8-Jan. 5 exhibit at the Latino Arts Center, told your Catholic Herald that part of her job was to discover local talent.

“I was always looking for new artists, for new possibilities,” she said, describing how often what she saw was nice, but not of museum quality. She traveled the eight hours from the city of Coro to Nava’s remote village, noting it was difficult to locate him.

“He lives in a place like a desert, far away, but when he opened one of the doors, I couldn’t say anything. It was what I call the primarian angel, the first angel.”

Thoroughly impressed, Lugo received the OK from curators at the Museo De Arte De Coro – which Oszkay likened to Milwaukee’s Calatrava Art Museum – to purchase every piece Nava had.

Thrilled, Nava immediately quit his job and began focusing on art fulltime. Lugo noted that Nava’s art continues to improve.

“Step by step in this very short time, he grew up so fast,” she said pointing to ways Nava has refined his craft by adding detail and changing body structures.

In the 12 years since, Nava’s work has been exhibited throughout Venezuela, and he has become a well-known figure in the Venezuelan art scene. In 1999, Lugo submitted a nativity scene Nava had created to the Vatican for its “Nativities of the World” exhibit. The Vatican was seeking nativity scenes from various countries for an exhibit that showcased different cultures. According to Lugo, the Vatican had rejected many entries from Latin America, but when they saw Nava’s, they accepted it.

Nava noted his nativity scenes do not include animals because animals do not create inner feelings of inspiration in him.

Nava’s works – many of which are life size – are a contemporary take on the traditional Latin American art of santos — painted, wooden sculptures of saints and angels. His pieces, made from baricicua wood native to Venezuela, are extremely colorful and some are enhanced with copper or other materials. Lugo said Nava’s eye for color was one of the first things that impressed her.

“It’s impressive how he uses the colors,” she said. “He knows perfectly what goes together with another and knows exactly what he wants,” she said, explaining that usually such knowledge comes only through study and that Nava has never had any formal art training.

“Each angel is as different as the other; no one is the same and they seem to contain a spirit inside and you can have it at home and you look every day, and every day you can find something different. They are like alive some of the time,” said Lugo.

Nava, who said he does most of his work in his studio in his home during the night, said he gets most of his inspirations through dreams. He dreams of the images, and said when he can look this imagined angel or Virgin Mary in the eyes, he knows it is time to create it. Each angel may take up to three months to create, he said, explaining that he’s been working for a year and half to make the 70 pieces he brought with him for the Milwaukee art exhibit. Because of travel limitations, his largest pieces are not among those currently on display.

His work came to be in Milwaukee thanks to Oszkay who as a Venezuelan said she’s always looking to bring her country’s art to Wisconsin. During a trip to Venezuela a few years ago, she said she was taken aback by the beauty of his work and was especially drawn to the life size images.

“I was so amazed and impressed, and this was obviously the season to stage the exhibit,” she said of the Advent/Christmas season. “He is a national treasure,” she added, noting that four of his pieces are on display in Santa Rosa of Lima Seminary in Caracas.

One of the pieces Nava created especially for this exhibit is a rosary that depicts the Marys of Latin America. Among those represented are the Immaculate Conception; Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Coromoto and Our Lady of La Altagracia.

All of Nava’s works in the Milwaukee exhibit are for sale with prices ranging between $10 and $15 for a piece of jewelry to $3,000 for a larger San Benito. In Venezuela, his pieces are either in museums or are commissioned by collectors. Even though all of his work is religious in nature, Nava said some of the collectors who commission his work are atheists.

“There are some who don’t believe in anything, but they appreciate the art,” said Nava, adding they recognize its aesthetic value.

“You do not have to be a devout Catholic to appreciate it,” said Oszkay.

But the religious nature of Nava’s work cannot be overlooked, said Nava, who credits his deep Catholic faith for his inspiration.

Regular Mass attendance and praying the rosary were important elements of his life as a youngster in Venezuela. One of Nava’s uncles is a deacon and a cousin is a religious sister.

“I’m inspired by my devotion to the Virgin and the angels and I come from a very religious family. I was looking for a way to express my inner beliefs and feelings through art,” said Nava, who added he hopes that when people view his work they catch a glimpse of heaven.

Los Angeles y las Virgenes, an exhibition by Denny Nava will be at the Latino Arts Center in the United Community Center, 1028 S. 9th St., Milwaukee through Friday, Jan. 5. For exhibit hours, call (414) 384-3100 or visit www.latinoartsinc.org.

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