ABOUT THE WORK

Juanito Torres started honing his craft at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Los Banos, Laguna, where he was awarded for Outstanding Visual Arts in 1994, then further enhanced his education as a Fine Arts student at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He was a finalist at the Metrobank Foundation National Painting Competition in 2005, and has gained attention in recent years for his massive paintings at exhibitions and auctions. He is known for the scale of his paintings and the use of historical scenes in his works that merge the surrealist tradition with the artist’s almost encyclopedic knowledge of Philippine history. Torres’ works are in the collections of many historical museums, including the Juan and Antonio Luna Museum in Ilocos Norte, the Mabini Museum in Batangas, and the Katipunan Museum in San Juan. He also has paintings in the main collection of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Juanito Torres’ practice is built on a consideration of concept, highly reminiscent with the Father of Conceptual Art Roberto Chabet. Chabet had a very strong influence on the young Juanito, whose works are the result of a process of unraveling fixed notions about art and meaning. Chabet described his works as “creatures of memory” and himself as their “custodian,” an evident source of Torres’ tendency to mythologize aspects of history as explanation for modern perceptions, behaviors, and beliefs.