‘Terra Firme’ … Paul Torres (North Gallery)
Paul Torres has consistently exhibited in our gallery over the years. His artwork captures and depicts modern city life…themes that crisscross through…L.A. urban scenes, recent global events, eroticism, pop icons, and individuals who too often are marginalized by society.
We’re pleased to exhibit Paul, as one of our featured artists in November……
Opening Reception … Sunday, Nov 20th / 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Biography:
Naturally gifted with a keen observation of everyday life and the cultural, social, political and religious landscape in the world we live, Paul Torres’ art embodies a rich imagination and is laced with social commentary and a soulful interpretation of everyday life. Paul was born in Chile, his interest in art began at age 3 after being introduced to comic books. He developed a love for comic books and started drawing soon after, his father then hired a private art tutor for him. By the age of 7 he was already enrolled in an art correspondence school. Early on, Paul also became influenced by Hollywood films and mostly enjoys horror films and Westerns.
Coming to the United States for a one-year stay at the age of 9 to Mar Vista, CA. Paul fell in love with the art culture here. After immigrating to the United States permanently at age 18, Paul served in the U.S. Army, attended Otis Parsons Art Institute for two years, and then in 1998 he received his Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He worked for several years in the animation and movie industry…DIC entertainment, as a Character designer, helped make The Ghostbusters TV Syndication and Network Show Number 1. He also worked for “Cool World”, Ralph Bakshi productions, “Scrooged” and other movies, while simultaneously exhibiting paintings in galleries and museums. His artwork is in private collections, in the U.S. and Internationally.
Paul is known to be very creative by utilizing various mediums. He works with a variety of mediums ranging from oil to acrylic, ink and dry mediums, preferring oils. Although he feels very comfortable working from “life” and models, he also uses his imagination combined with life experiences…to bring his work into a more personal level and aiming for magic realism, rooted in the tradition of the old masters with undertones of modern influences. Paul has been called a visionary artist and a soul artist.