Raul de la Torre
RAUL DE LA TORRE
Raúl de la Torre (born 1964, Barcelona, Spain) is a Barcelona-born, Los Angeles–based abstract artist known for vibrant mixed-media paintings that merge color-field structure with textile-like interventions. Trained at Barcelona’s Massana Art School, he has built a practice rooted in experimentation—treating paint, thread, and surface as equal partners in composition. His long-running Fils i Colors series explores “a third dimension” through layered materials and stitched elements that physically lift the image off the plane, translating the language of weaving into contemporary abstraction.
De la Torre’s works typically begin with acrylic laid in chromatic bands or blocks, sometimes held within crisp edges and other times released into gravity-driven drips. He then introduces embroidery and threadwork—a defining gesture that shifts the painting from optical experience to tactile object, as if the canvas were being “woven” back into itself. In several bodies of work, he also cuts into the painted surface and “repairs” it with stitching, creating a tension between rupture and mending that echoes craft traditions while staying firmly within post-minimal, process-based abstraction. The result is a hybrid language—part painting, part textile—where color behaves like fabric: layered, tensile, and rhythmic.
"I first choose the colors I want to incorporate in the palette of the work I’m about to embark upon. To me, the colors represent people, moments or feelings. I paint with acrylic in various blocks of color interacting with one another, evolving a pattern upon the canvas. Sometimes I contain the paint within a clean border, other times I let the blocks of color drip down the canvas or paper. Next, I begin the process of embroidery. I make horizontal cuts on the canvas or paper and covers these open areas using cotton thread. This process of embroidering on canvas or paper adds both intrigue and a sense of depth to each unique work. My most recent body of works reflects a series of poems by a well known poet from Catalonia, my home country. An homage to both the poet and the creative process, my technique of embroidery is heartfelt exploration. Just as a poet builds words to form metaphor or meaning, I build texture through embroidery to form depth and character." Raul de la Torre
Fils Colors
Acrylic & Embroidery on canvas
30 x 48” (76 x 122cm), gallery price: $4,700
Raúl de la Torre
Born in Barcelona in 1964
Economist – Universitat de Barcelona, London School of Economics.
Master in Marketing Direction by ESMA Barcelona
Attended Massana Art School in Barcelona
Member of LACMA Art Council
Member of LAAA (Los Angeles Art Association)
SOLO SHOWS (SELECTED)
-SPOTTE ART - NEW YORK - JANUARY/MARCH 2016 - THREADED POEMS
-MATTHEW RACHMAN GALLERY -CHICAGO - NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 -SHAPING MEMORY - Show with Christophe Gausparro
-PRESENTATION SEVEN NEW WORKS AT PETROSSIAN WEST HOLLYWOOD. DECEMBER 2014-JANUARY 2015
-FRESH PAINT - Culver City - November 2013- POEMS AND AFFIRMATIONS - Show with John Randall Nelson
-LAUNCH - Los Angeles - DEEP CUTS - January 14th- February 4th 2012
-CITY OF FONTANA - ART DEPOT - SOLO SHOW JULY - AUGUST 2010 - EXPERIMENTING THE COLOR
-LACMA -ART RENTAL SALES GALLERY- FILS I COLORS - SHOW APRIL 2010
-SEYHOUN GALLERY. W. Hollywood, CA. Solo show. FILS I COLORS. April-May 2009
-ARTHAUS 66 Gallery. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Solo Show CIUTATS. April 2009
-Bluebird Art House - Whittier - California (USA) Solo show - CIUTATS August 2008
-Bluebird Art House - Whittier- CA (USA) January 2007 Solo show, Vermell I negre
-Infusion Gallery -Los Angeles (USA) November 2006. Solo show - Mans i textures
-Assunta Fox Gallery - Santa Ana - CA (USA) May 2006. Solo show
GROUP SHOWS (SELECTED)
THE OTHER ART FAIR - BROOKLYN - MAY 2019
JULIO VALDEZ PROJECT SPACE - INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION - NEW YORK -MAY 2019
ART PROJECT PAIA - POINT AND LINE TO PLANE - MAUI, HAWAII - APRIL 2019
MERRITT GALLERY - BE BOLD - BALTIMORE - MARCH 2019
JULIO VALDEZ PROJECT SPACE - ART ON PAPER - NEW YORK - MARCH 2019
MERRITT GALLERY - UNEXPECTED SPLENDOR - BALTIMORE - JANUARY 2019
THE OTHER ART FAIR - BROOKLYN - NOVEMBER 2018
THE OTHER ART FAIR - SANTA MONICA - OCTOBER 2018
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE ARTISAN SERIES - BUILDING BRIDGES GALLERY - SANTA MONICA - OCTOBER 2018,
MERRITT GALLERY - BALTIMORE - JUNE-JULY 2018 - ALL-AMERICAN INSPIRED
MICHELE MARIAUD GALLERY - THE BRIDGEHAMPTON MUSEUM - BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY - JULY 5-8, 2018 - MARKET ART+ DESIGN
MERRITT GALLERY - BALTIMORE - MAY-JUNE 2018 - MAKING A STATEMENT
THE OTHER ART FAIR - BROOKLYN - MAY 2018 - NEW WORKS
MICHAEL WARREN CONTEMPORARY - DENVER - APRIL 2018 - WEST COAST ARTIST
MERRITT GALLERY – BALTIMORE – MARCH 2018 – SPRING LOOKBOOK EXHIBITION
SAATCHI ART – SANTA MONICA – FEBRUARY 2018 – CONSTRUCTED
MERRITT GALLERY – BALTIMORE – JANUARY 2018 – LOVE IS IN THE ART
DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – 2017-18 – IT’S A COLORFUL WORLD
THE PROJECT SPACE – NEW YORK – DECEMBER 2017 – OPEN STUDIO TOUR
SLATE ART – DRIP N DRY SHOW – OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 2017
FP CONTEMPORARY – SUMMER GROUP SHOW – CULVER CITY –JUNE 2016
TV AND FILM CREDITS
THE EVENT (2011)
FREE AGENTS (2011)
SAVE ME (2013)
EASY (2016)(2017)
THE CATCH (2017)