The Gallery at the Ocean City Arts Center’s February exhibit features paintings by Paul D. Fuentes. The show opens January 31 and runs through February 27 . A “Meet the Artists’ reception will be held on Friday, February 10 from 7pm to 8:30pm. The Gallery is located in the Ocean City Arts Center, 1735 Simpson Avenue, 2nd Floor, Ocean City, NJ.
Fuentes’ paintings have been shown in galleries on the east and west coasts including Sotheby’s New York, Las Laguna Gallery in Laguna Beach and in the nationally juried Art In Politics show at Touchstone Gallery in Washington D.C. The White Room Gallery in the Hamptons and Corridor Contemporary in Philadelphia currently represent his work. Two paintings were selected for the 30th International Juried Exhibition at Viridian Gallery, New York. His portrait of Hillary Clinton, My Heart New Opened, was featured in Creative Quarterly Journal and published in The Village Voice. As a director Paul’s film work has been honored by CLIO, the Art Directors Club, The International Film and Television Awards, The Belding Awards, PROMAX, The New York Festivals and The Houston International Film Festival.
Last Know Location House Fire
Paul’s paintings often blend modern life with pop culture references. A woman takes a selfie by her wrecked Rolls Royce; another takes a selfie (her last?) at Mount Kilimanjaro. Memorializing moments— significant and banal— onto devices is an ongoing theme. His portraits question the nature of identity and transfer to the viewer an invitation to be complicit. Subjects are often depicted in wardrobe that creates an obvious illusion. Putin, in a T-shirt popular with fitness buffs (“Sun’s Out, Guns Out”) is posed like St. Francis. In this context however, the statement seems quite literal. Replacing familiar contexts with new ones, history may become fiction prompting viewers to create their own narratives.
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Because I’m Happy
Paul D. Fuentes is a graduate of The Tyler School of Art and Architecture of Temple University (BFA, magna cum laude). His design and illustration work has appeared in ads and publications including The New York Times. He was a creative director at HBO and soon became a director, directing TV commercials, promo campaigns and shows. With Screen Gems he opened Huge, his own New York production company
The show runs from January 31 to February 27. The Ocean City Arts Center is located on the second floor in the Community Center at 1735 Simpson Avenue, Ocean City, New Jersey 08226. Hours of operation are 9am to 9pm, Monday through Friday and 9am to 3pm on Saturday. The Arts Center is closed on Sunday. For further information, call (609) 399-7628. Check out the Ocean City Arts Center on Facebook and Instagram.
This program is made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
