Luis Torres

Luis Javier Torres Suárez was Born in Cidra, Puerto Rico on September 15, 1969. He began drawing at age 9. In 1987 he enrolls in the School of Fine arts (Escuela de Artes Plásticas EAP) at the Old San Juan, where he meets his mentor the puertorrican realist painter Francisco Cervonni Brenes .The young artist decided early on that he wanted to remain a realist painter throughout his entire career . During his studies at EAP he participated in many shows which included The Puertorrican Art and History Museum at the Old San Juan, The Puertorrican Athenaeum , The Alfonso Arana foundation, and the Puertorrican Academy of Art and Science in which in 1988 he won first prize for his drawing: “The Patience”. In 1992 he graduated from the EAP painting major with a “Cum Laude” distinction. The artist traveled to New York in 1993 where he studied for a master’s degree in oil painting at the prestigious Pratt Institute of Art. During his time at Pratt the artist had the opportunity to study with Frank Lind and John Smith also realist painters and professors who help him develop a hyperrealist style. His first solo exhibition was held at Pratt’s Higgins’s Hall. In 1995 the artist graduated from the Pratt Institute of Art with a “Magna Cum Laude” distinction. Torres Suárez moves back to the island that same year and began teaching at Puerto Rico’s University in Río Piedras Campus as a drawing and painting professor. In 1999 Torres Suárez had a solo show on the Casa Roig Museum in Humacao where he presented his collection of drawings and paintings Interiors of contemporary puertorrican quotidian life. In the year 2000 Torres Suárez held a professional solo show at the renowned Viota Gallery at Saint Patrick’s street in Guaynabo Puerto Rico. His work has appeared in all major newspapers on the island such as El Nuevo Día, El Vocero, The San Juan Star and most recently in La Perla del Sur. The artist work has also been reviewed in the Modo de Vida and Revista Arte Latinoamericano magazines. The artist’s most recent shows have been the Bienal de Arte de Ponce at Adelina Copin’s Library at the University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus in 2012, the first Bienal de Arte Sacro, and the Contemporary Christmas Expo, both at the Ramón Rivera Bermúdez Historic Museum, the Guayama Fine Arts Center, and Bethlehem Gift a collective exposition at the Three Kings Museum in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, all in 2013. As a professional artist Torres Suárez work stands out for his skillfully rendered oil paintings and contemporary approach to figurative art.

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.