Alongside Poverty Painting

Cali’s unconventional paintings are intended to be a collaboration between artist and audience. Like a mirror, each artwork is a visual prompt that evolves based on the viewer's own personal experience and emotional/intellectual/physical reaction. Influenced by a mixture of impressionist, fauvist, figurative expressionist, street art and abstraction art movements, Cali’s style is characterized by uncommon color palettes, distinct variation of lines, open brushwork and range of texture. Typically working in acrylic on larger format canvases, his subjects and themes often combine current global events with his own life challenges and successes as an immigrant, student, professional, partner and parent. Currently based in San Francisco’s Bay Area, Cali (aka Jorge M. Calderon) is well travelled and draws inspiration from the many communities he’s visited, or lived in, across the US and around the world. His work has received recognition through various events and exhibitions, including a recent notable selection by the de Young Museum to be part of their 2020 de Young Open gallery exhibition.