Jaden Dejesus Blango (M.T.S. '25) is a mixed media artist with an interest and training in figurative drawing. His training focused on technical sense and manner, inspired by the draftsmanship of Pontormo, Menzel, Degas, and others. Now a professional artist, D. Blango has exhibited work and delivered lectures in New York and Texas. In 2021, he was awarded an undergraduate residency at the New York Academy of Art. He holds a B.F.A. in visual art from University of Texas San Antonio and is currently pursuing a Master's in Theological Studies degree with a Certificate in Theology and the Arts at Duke Divinity School.
Let’s start at the beginning. Tell us a little about the origins of your love for the arts. When did your passion for the arts begin? And when did you really focus on visual arts?
I think my interest in art really began with my upbringing in New York. I remember feeling amazed at both the scale and creativity of the murals on the backsides of huge buildings. This was coupled for me with my family’s attendance to a beautiful little parish called St. Mary’s, where through the stained glass, icons, and architecture my sense of wonder for the visual world was established.
I also grew up in a family of dancers—my mother and many of my sisters were and are professional dancers. I also had one sister that was a very good at drawing. I remember thinking all of this was beautiful—the dancing, the drawing, the creating. I grew up in this context, but it wasn’t until I moved to South Texas during my high school years that I began to seriously consider visual art as a career path. I ended up studying visual art as an undergraduate, through a B.F.A. program first at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, then the University of Texas San Antonio, which was a much more conceptual program that pushed me as an artist.