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Over the years, Fabian has explored different paths in search for greater self expression and artistic truth. His tenacity and dedication have led him to be recognized at an international level as one of the best portrait painters of the century and considered by the media as the best contemporary figurative artist of his generation.
Born in 1967, and raised in Campana – just 50 miles from Argentina’s scintillating capital city, Buenos Aires – Fabian’s early years were spent in the company of intensely conflicted characters. He lived on the edge of a dark yet exciting world: befriended and cared for by girls that other schoolboys were being warned about; glamorous tango dancers, flamenco guitarists and gypsy musicians; sultry women who could seduce a man with a lingering unspoken invitation, and swarthy men who were battling with the demons of their own conflicting ideals – faithful to a rich cultural heritage, yet in search of revolutionary emancipation – during the political upheaval of a post-Peron military regime. This was the childhood of Fabian Pérez.
There can be little doubt – the climactic passion and rhythm of life lived by his father, Antonio, amidst the underground world of city nights was the igniting spark in this artist’s intense imagination. There is no debate – this hedonistic backdrop, made animate through the lunfardo and the patois of clandestine Argentinian nightlife, was the catalyst for the atmospheric representations of forbidden sensuality and unnamed desires that we see today. No wonder then, that the artist himself refers to his style, his atmospheric portrayals of life after dark in Buenos Aires, as ‘emotionalism’.
From the age of nine, he started expressing himself through visual arts – drawing on the underlying passions of his home environment to begin drawing remarkably advanced sketches and portraits of his friends and family. But it was the loss of his parents at an early age – his artistic and creative mother, Edua, when he was 16, and his father just three years later – that provided the momentum in Fabian’s search for maturity in his artistic direction.
An unusual upbringing resulted in a logical choice: the addition of pace and peace as temperance for the insatiable dynamic cadence of South American life. Fabian crossed paths with Sensei Oscar, Oscar Higa: a man would become his teacher, close friend, martial arts instructor … and as influential a father-figure as Antonio before him.
An on-going journey of self-discovery began as the mental and physical disciplines gained through exceptional karate skills became a calming influence on Fabian’s life. As a result, he began harnessing his sensory intuition and instincts, drawing even more deeply on the experiences of his childhood as he painted; channelling the warmth and humanity of those insights, relationships and situations onto each exquisite canvas.
It is this tactile font of creativity that brings Fabian’s art so vividly to life – giving it a vibrant intimacy to which other artists aspire, and informed collectors feel inexorably drawn.
At 22, Fabian decided to leave Argentina, spending six months in Rio de Janeiro living an almost nomadic life, before leaving the continent in search of European climes. He moved to Padova, in Italy: another country where passion is an intrinsic part of life, and life becomes so eloquently expressed through the arts.
Still studying daily with Sensei Oscar, it was here that his unique view and extraordinary devotion to the visual arts began to fully mature. His work began taking on more depth than he’d previously achieved in the plainsong expression of purely romantic feelings. Harnessing the muga – a martial arts term, signifying a pure and empty mind – Fabian began entering into an almost meditative state of mind when working at the easel, with a greater purity of creativity being the resul.
And after seven years in the Mediterranean, opening up these channels of creativity, it was time to move on. Fabian travelled to Okinawa in Japan – experiencing and absorbing the delicate nuances of eastern influence into his psyche for over a year, and being heavily influenced by the energy and dramatic strokes of the Shodo painting technique – before settling back in the west, in Los Angeles. Here, in the spring of 2001, he began balancing the simple duties of life as a busboy, life model and working hand at Universal Studios during the day, with a dedication to realising his artistic flair each night. This, he considers this to be the most creative period of his life to date.
The results, a small exhibition of his works, were noticed by the artistic establishment and before long he was publishing his art to great critical acclaim.
Every painting sold immediately and there has been an exponential demand for his work since. Canvases grace the walls of discerning collectors such as Sugar Ray Leonard, the singer Shakira, actors Micky Rourke and Megan Fox, the singer song writer Juan Gabriel, and the President of the Latin Grammy Awards Gabriel Abora.
Fabian’s international status was confirmed with his appointment as the official artist to the 2010 Latin Grammy Awards, and as one of the official artists for both the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the London 2012 Olympics.
With a rare, government-funded public exhibition for the nation, he has also been acknowledged in Argentina as an internationally acclaimed fine artist who has brought credit to his country – a huge tribute.
Fabian now lives in Beverly Hills, California, where he paints, trains and teaches martial arts to close friends. He still travels the world for inspiration.
Product code: ART00147365
Edition Size: 9999
Size: 11 x 12 inches
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