"The Dog face jockey" Print

MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV: "The magical world of German Perez brings to mind the beauty of his beloved Chagall glossed with a Caribbean palette. His imagination as an artist lifts us to the unexpected, but his grounding as a Socially conscious and caring man settles us back to earth with a gentle hand. I love looking at his work." GERMAN PEREZ was born in the countryside of the Dominican Republic in 1956. His formal creative studies began in Santo Domingo, the capital. He is known for versatility in various mediums and for his diverse approach in capturing narrative motifs. Perez moved to New York City in 1985 where the various influences of Pop Art and Graffitti Art found their way into the artist's modern interpretations of Taino Indian Mythology and rituals. Perez's paintings exude vibrancy and mystery, a playful innocence and sensuality transmitted through his use of primary colors and his magical,distint compositions. The result is a work of urban expression deeply rooted in an African-Taino-Caribbean past. Dominican painter German Pérez is considered one of the leading exponents of the island’s 1980s artistic scene, leading him represent the country at European biennials held in France, Norway, Spain and Hungary. A graduate in architecture, he experimented with a wide range of visual media like photography, drawing, sculpture and graphic art, and these techniques have featured in several phases of his artistic work. In 1983 he moved to New York City, where he became involved in the Pop Art movement, exhibiting his work in Soho alongside artists like Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat. As a result, one year later he represented the Latino community with a solo exhibition in the lobby of the World Trade Center in New York, in a celebration of diversity. In the course of his career, German Pérez has held a total of 28 solo exhibitions in several cities and countries, including New York and Los Angeles, Brazil, Panama and Belgium. His pictorial body of work can be found in public and private collections, including those of international ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, Punta Cana founder, the late Theodore Kheel, world famous Parisian chef Alain Ducasse, and other prominent figures.