John Joseph "Jos" Sances (born August 18, 1952) is an American artist, activist, writer, and community organizer, known for his printmaking, and tile murals/public art . He is the founder and director of Alliance Graphics. Sances is based in Berkeley, California.
Biography John Joseph Sances was born August 18, 1952, in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Sicilian-American family. He studied at Montserrat School of Visual Arts (now Montserrat College of Art).
He came to California in 1976 and became active in art and politics. In the late 1970s, Sance was active with the Galería de la Raza and the La Raza Silkscreen Center. In 1982, Sances co-founded Mission Grafica at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.
In 1989, Sances founded Alliance Graphics, a Berkeley-based union screen print shop. Profits from Alliance Graphics support the parent organization, the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA).
His work, Or, The Whale (2019) was in the 2019 exhibition, Here is the Sea at Richmond Art Center. Or, The Whale was created on 119 panels. When assembled together they form a 14 feet high by 51 feet wide scratchboard with the image of a sperm whale with the illustrated history of capitalism in America inside of the whale.
Sances is a member of the food-based art group The Great Tortilla Conspiracy making tortilla art, other members include Rio Yañez, René Yañez, and Art Hazelwood.
Sances' work can be found in various public museum collections, including Smithsonian American Art Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, American Labor Museum in Haledon, New Jersey, Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, among others.
Sances' screenprints, his own images and images printed for other artists, are included in Mission Grafica: Reflecting a Community in Print by Art Hazelwood.
Murals YearTitleArtistsLocationNotes1991–1994Jos Sances, Daniel GalvezOakland Coliseum, Oakland, California4 murals1996Jos SancesOakland Coliseum, Oakland, California9 murals2003Future RoadsJos Sances, Daniel Galvez16th Street BART station, San Francisco, CaliforniaA screen printed tile mural around the entrance of the esclators.2006Youthful TransformationJos Sances, Daniel GalvezJuvenile Justice Center, Main Corridor, San Leandro, CaliforniaA digital tile mural.2008On the Right TrackJos Sances, Daniel GalvezRichmond BART/Amtrak/AC Transit station, Richmond, CaliforniaA series of tile murals.2009Jos Sances, Art HazelwoodArnett Watson Apartments, San Francisco, CaliforniaA tile mural2009Jos SancesCastro Valley Library, Castro Valley, CaliforniaA tile mural2010Jos SancesIra Jenkins Park, Oakland, California2019Jos SancesShadelands Sports Complex, Walnut Creek, CaliforniaA 1500 sq.ft. tile mural.
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