Fundamental life experiences inspire Jesus David Torres and form the foundation of his art practice. His point of view comes from doing various labor jobs- setting the stage for workers as artists. From working with his father as a stone mason in Westchester, NY, to working construction/art handling in California, and now working as an Art Preparator and landscaper in Pittsburgh, PA, Jesus gathers his lived experiences from these jobs to create sculptures, paintings, videos, and other mixed media works. He often uses forms of documentation branching between photography and video to make his work with collage and sculptural techniques. Torres firmly believes it is best to make from a place of sincerity- stemming from things he's lived through to evoke new ideas for artworks. The compositions in these artworks embody ideas of social mobility, resilience, and his first-generation mentality to improve one's quality of life. Torres reconstructs the surface of the canvas using multiple art materials, arranging a framework of surreal settings combined with the reality of his existence. The 2-dimensional work encourages ideas to build sculptures, and the making of sculptures informs other painting/mixed media concepts. The ambiguity in the motifs of Torres' work considers a sense of a false American dream or the potentiality of his working-class ambitions becoming real.
Jesus D. Torres is a first-generation Mexican-American artist, born and raised in New Rochelle, NY. While working for his father in their family masonry business he completed his bachelor's degree in Fine Art at SUNY Purchase in 2019. Upon graduating, Torres participated in the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Casa Lu artist residencies. Torres currently lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA.
Education
Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, 2019
SUNY Purchase College, BFA, Sculpture, 2019
Westchester Community College, A.A.S. Visual Arts, 2016
Awards
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Grant, 2019
Outstanding Senior Award in Sculpture, Purchase College, 2019
Southern Westchester BOCES Center for Career Services, Dree Atkins Memorial Award, 2013
Experience
Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2024-Present
Installing paintings, sculptures, installations, and time-based artworks for exhibitions. Packing the artworks after an exhibition comes down, or as needed for outgoing shipments. Receiving incoming shipments (art crates of various sizes) for exhibitions and unpacking with registrars. Fabricating wooden frames, crates, and other objects as needed for exhibitions.
Plantscape Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, October, 2023-Present
Installing plants and doing lawn care maintenance for commercial businesses. This includes using skid loaders, mini excavators, and other lawn care equipment. During the winter, we do Christmas install and de-install. This work sometimes involves using a scissor-lift and boom lift to install or take down decorations.
Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, March 2022-July 2023
Installing paintings and sculptures for exhibitions. Packing the artworks after an exhibition comes down. Making shadow boxes and collaring paintings for shipping. Building creates for artworks to ship internationally. Assisting with deliveries of artwork to clients or shipping services, and picking up artwork from artists at their studios. General upkeep of the gallery including spackling, sanding, and painting gallery walls.
Part-time work at other art galleries, Los Angeles, August 2021-July 2023
- Charlie James Gallery
- Sebastian Gladstone Gallery
- Clearing Gallery
- James Fuentes Gallery
- Noon Projects
Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, August 2021- May 2022
Packing and building shadow boxes for paintings. Hanging 2D artwork with various forms of hardware.Working with other art handlers to assemble and disassemble sculptures/installations( Example- Raul de Nieves’s carousel sculpture.) General upkeep of the gallery, which include tasks such as painting and patching walls.
American Landscape Inc., Los Angeles, CA, March 2021-June 2021
I assist in the installation of multiple plants and trees for large-scale landscaping projects. These tasks include placing perforated PVC pipe/other PVC pipes for water maintenance, digging, and planting the plants in their corresponding locations. I also setup of water irrigation systems which include setting PVC pipes according to the blueprints.
The Hanover Company, Canoga Park, CA, December 2020-March2021
My responsibilities for this position are to keep the work site clean, dig trenches, unload & load material for various jobs, and other miscellaneous tasks given by the project manager. Other duties include overlooking and assigning projects to the other general laborers. Assisting waste management during the swapping of the 40-yard dumpster.
David Torres Masonry, New Rochelle, NY June 2015- November 2020
Building patios, walkways, and stonewalls with various stones. Knowledge of cement mixtures for specific stonework. Sending clients invoices, project proposals, and contracts. Conducting in-person estimates and job feasibility.
Kate Gilmore Studio, Ancram and Queens, NY June 2019- December 2019
Studio maintenance including material supply/ ordering, project budgets, and research. Fabrication of works including hand sewing, metalwork, and basic casting.
Metal Shop Monitor, Purchase NY August 2019- December 2019
Aid students with their assigned metal projects. This includes setting up oxyacetylene & MIG welding stations. I’m also trained to use the vertical & horizontal band saw, jump sheer, and grinding stations. Other responsibilities include maintenance, keeping track of tools, and setting up a safe working environment for students.
Artist Assistant, Sam Spillman, Purchase NY March-May 2018
Building and painted wooden frames for plexiglass sculpture. Installed and de-installed large steel and plexiglass architectural installation using scaffolding and a scissor lift.
Rachel Owens Studio, Brooklyn NY, June -August 2018
Assistant/ Intern created resin and marble cast sculptures, welding steel armatures for broken glass works, art handling, and shipping.
Artist Assistant for Lisa Seeback, Brooklyn, NY January – August 2017
Art handling and shipping. Welding and grinding of bent steel rod sculptures. Scanning in drawings for an exhibition catalog.
Teaching Assistant, Phil Listengart, Figure Modeling September – December 2017
Assisting students in building the human figure out of water and plastilina clay. Fabricated wood tools for clay figure modeling. Constructed aluminum armatures for standing figures.
Skills
Stone Masonry & Landscaping
Operating scissor lift
Art Handling
Metal fabrication: Oxy-acetylene, MIG, plasma cutting, bending, and shaping
General wood-working: table saw, chop saw, band saw, sanders
Basic mold-making skills with silicone, alginate, and plaster
Photoshop, InDesign, basic video editing
Bilingual: Spanish/ English
*Exhibitions and References provided upon request