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Artist Statement:
Naturally gifted with a keen observation of life, including 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 with a soulful interpretation of everyday life. Paul was born and raised in Santiago Chile, in Las Condes, his birth name is Pablo Torres Urmeneta, his interest in art began at age three after being introduced to comic books. Early on, Paul also became influenced by Hollywood films, such as Film Noir, Horror, Detective and Westerns, and also by European Art, such as Baroque, Impressionism, Surrealism, and American Art.
Coming to the United States for one year and again at the age of 9, Paul fell in love with the art culture of Los Angeles. After immigrating to the United States permanently at age 18, Paul served in the U.S. Army, and became a U.S. citizen at 21 years old. He attended Otis Parsons Art Institute, and then in 1998 he received his Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration/Fine Arts from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He had the privilege of studying with several prominent artists, such as Daniel Greene, Jan Saether, Albert Handell, and many more, and also worked for many years in the Animation and Movie industry, as a character and background designer. He was a key character designer for a few seasons for DIC Entertainment “The Real Ghostbusters”, an animated TV series, he worked on “Cool World” by Ralph Bakshi, and many TV Shows and Films.
Paul actively shows in Los Angeles, across the U.S., and internationally. He has been a featured Solo Artist at various Galleries such as La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Grand Central Gallery, Chimmaya Gallery, The Hive Gallery, among others. And he has been part of many two person shows, and group shows such as the Copro Gallery, Distinction Gallery, Rico Gallery, The Hive Gallery, Muckenthaler Cultural Center among many others. Paul was also represented at the rental and sales gallery in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He has been written about in Cultcrusher, Legend, Juxtapoze, Reddoor magazine, Browndwarf Compendium Magazine, The Big Book of Contemporary Illustration and many more publications and sites throughout the world.
Paul currently resides in Alhambra, California, with his beloved wife, Clara.
If you are interested in purchasing any of my work, or have any questions or comments, just email me at: paultorres9@yahoo.com.
