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BIO

Hedy Torres (b. 1988) was born in Colima, Mexico to a family of seven. She is currently residing in Los Angeles CA.

 

She moved to the United States in 2006 and obtained a Green Card and General Education Diploma (GED) in 2009.

 

Torres worked various jobs in order to be able to afford her education, including work as a street vendor and an Uber driver.  During her time as a street vendor, Hedy came face-to-face with the harsh reality of this hard and often dangerous occupation. This experience inspired the direction of her artwork to focus on street vendors: the unseen, hardworking and often forgotten people who truly make Los Angeles the multicultural city that we all enjoy.

Various personal experiences also prompted the topic of Hedy’s dissertation thesis –spotlighting the stories of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

 

Hedy holds a MA with an emphasis on Painting and Drawing from California State University, Northridge.

Artist's Statement 

Hedy Torres’s art pieces focus on spotlighting immigrants and street vendors – populations that have been historically alienated based on prejudices, labels, and stereotypes, people who must be treated with respect and acknowledged for their contribution to the economy, society and culture of the United States.

 

Soy, De Aquí y Allá (SDAYA) is a body of work that introduces her story as a Mexican immigrant by spotlighting stories of other immigrants predominantly those who work in street vending. These ongoing series of portraits focuses on elevating the stories of the subjects by showing them at work and is accompanied with storytelling components, bringing forward personal details about the subjects and the artist herself. The background of the art pieces serves as diary where Hedy engraves, draws, and carves on fresh paint the stories she gathers from interviews and her own personal experiences. Most of the portraits are created in un-stretched canvas to mimic the easy and light transportation street vendors have with their work materials.

 

Comida Rapida series is a love letter to Los Angeles, in which Torres strives to immortalize local restaurants and street vendors and evoke sentimental memories in people who live or visit the city. The colorful landscape-style artwork enhances the local establishments and brings out the colorful palette and history of Los Angeles.

CVV

EDUCATION

2018                            Master of Arts, Painting, California State University, Northridge. Northridge, CA

 

2016                            Bachelor of Arts, Painting and Drawing, California State University, Northridge. Northridge, CA

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

2018 – Present         Senior Housing Coordinator, Brilliant Corners, Los Angeles, CA

 

2019 – 2022              Art Instructor, Tzedek America, Los Angeles, CA

 

SOLO EXHIBTIONS

 

2019                            Invisible Hands: Eleven Million. Buena Park’s Fine Arts, Buena Park, CA

 

2018                            Invisible Hands: Eleven Million. TIOH Arts & Culture, Los Angeles, CA

 

2017                            Eleven Million.  Sponsored by CSUN Galleries, Matador Credit Union, Art council. CSUN West Gallery, Northridge, CA

 

DUO EXHIBITION

 

2022                            Formas De Familia: Daniela Garcia, Hedy Torres, Artbug Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

 

2023                            35 x 35 Bicentennial. Departamento de Asuntos Culturales, Los A        ngeles, CA

 

2022                            El Futuro es Queer Mercado. PRPGMX, Mexico City

           

2022                            All Media 2022. Irvine Fine Art Center, Irvine, CA

 

2022                            Como Frida. Tonalli Studio, East Los Angeles, CA

 

2022                            Begin/ Again. Open Mind Art, Santa Monica, CA

 

2022                            Divina Madre. Tonalli Studio, East Los Angeles, CA

 

2022                            Come Together. Open Gallery, Long Beach, CA

 

2022                            Amor Eterno. Tonalli Studio, East Los Angeles, CA

 

2022                            Intergalactic Open. Shock Boxx, Hermosa Beach, CA

 

2021                            35 x 35 Bicentennial. Departamento de Asuntos Culturales, Los Angeles, CA

 

2021                            All Media 2021. Irvine Fine Art Center, Irvine, CA

 

2020                            Brand 48 Works on Paper. Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA

 

2020                            Don’t Touch Your Face. Shock Boxx, Hermosa Beach, CA

 

2020                            Paint: Medium as Power in a Time of Crisis. Barret Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY

 

2020                            The Same Thing Every day. Moorpark College Art Gallery, Moorpark, CA

 

2019                            The 35x35 Self & Identity. Centro Cultural Cinematografico, Los Angeles, CA

 

2019                            Brand 47 Works on Paper. Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA

 

2019                            Los Angeles Paint Itself. Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA                             

2019                            We Rise 2019. Online Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

 

2019                            33rd Annual La Luzapalooza Exhibition. La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los                                            Angeles, CA

 

2019                            LA Open 2019. TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

 

2018                            2018 California Open Exhibition. TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

 

2018                            Hear Our Voices. Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA

 

2018                            2018 CSUN Graduate Exhibition. CSUN Art Galleries, Northridge, CA

 

​PUBLIC ART

 

2022                            Streetscape DTLA: An opportunity to paint a mural outside the  US Bank Tower Down Town, Los Angeles. Los Angeles, CA                             

 

2017                            CSUN We Rice Mural: Spring semester collaboration with classmates           working on Mural. Northridge, CA 

COLLECTIONS

 

2021                            More People Than You Know, “A Gift to The World.” Metro Art LA, Los Angeles, CA

 

2018                            Working Progress. USU Student Art Collection, CSUN, Northridge, CA.

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

Orange County Breeze. (2019). Invisible Hands: Eleven Million by Hedy Torres | Orange County Breeze. [online] Available at: http://www.oc-breeze.com/2019/05/26/139266_invisible-hands-eleven-million-by-hedy-torres/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].

 

Stories, L. (2019). Meet Hedy Torres - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide. [online] Voyagela.com. Available at: http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-hedy-torres-hedy-torres-invisible-hands-eleven-million-east-la/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].

 

 

Arts.tioh.org. (2019). Hedy Torres Invisible Hands: Eleven Million TIOH Arts and Culture. [online] Available at: https://arts.tioh.org/event/hedy-torresinvisible-hands-eleven-million/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].

 

 

Martinez, C. (2017). Graduate Student Gives a Voice to Undocumented Students Through Artwork. [online] The Sundial. Available at: https://sundial.csun.edu/112040/arts-entertainment/graduate-student-gives-a-voice-to-undocumented-students-through-artwork/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].

 

 

Barajas, J. (2017). Retratos de Resiliencia Destacan las Injusticias de Donald Trump al Revocar DACA | La Opinión. [online] La Opinión. Available at: https://laopinion.com/2018/05/04/retratos-de-resiliencia-destacan-las-injusticias-de-donald-trump-al-revocar-daca/ [Accessed 7 Nov. 2019].

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