Paul D. Fuentes is a graduate of The Tyler School of Art and Architecture (BFA). He worked as a designer, creative director and film director in New York.
Fuentes’ paintings blend pop culture motifs and classical influences with conceptual and technical precision. His advertising and directing experience lends a stylish irreverence to paintings that pay homage to classicists like Sargent and Velasquez. The results are bold, thought-provoking and colorful depictions of modern life.
Narrative also plays prominently in many of his works. The Kiss Series depicts fully clothed couples in passionate embrace. Wardrobe and hairstyles appear distinctly retro, like from B movie sci-fi films. The passion seems at once feverish and vacuum sealed. The Selfie Series depicts subjects snapping cell phone portraits in precarious situations: a stylish woman takes a photo in the desert by her wrecked Rolls Royce while another holds a latte and snaps her picture in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and a waiting lion. Safety is relinquished for a moment of ego gratification that will, most likely, be posted and forgotten. Paul’s celebrity portraits create obvious and sometimes ironic illusions. Putin, posed like St. Francis, wears a T-shirt popular with fitness buffs, “Sun’s Out, Guns Out.” In this setting, however, the statement is quite literal. Replacing familiar contexts with new ones, Fuentes prompts viewers to create their own narratives. His Couples Series explores identity and fame through improbable pairings of famous duos. In The King & Queen, Queen Elizabeth & Burger King are the new royalty. Kim Kardashian & Kim Jong Un are Kim & Kim while Bill Clinton & Wilma Flintsone pair up in Bill & Wilma. Viewers are led to connect the dots and interpretations of each work.
Fuentes’ paintings have been shown in galleries on the east and west coasts including Sotheby’s New York, The White Room Gallery in East Hampton, Corridor Contemporary in Philadelphia and the nationally juried Art In Politics show at Touchstone Gallery in Washington D.C. Two works 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. His illustrations have appeared in ads and publications including The New York Times. His TV 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 others.
Statement
Modern themes interest me-- the disposable versus the timeless, the cult of celebrity. In an increasingly impersonal world where you can be followed or cancelled, I seek small moments of humanity. Like a compelling film still, I’d like my work to hint at a bigger story, one that the viewer creates. Combining contemporary themes in a classical style I hope to engage viewers into seeing something beautiful or cool and then have them realize this may be about something else entirely. Classic and modernist painters, advertising and cinematography inform my work.
Gallery representation
The White Room Gallery, East Hampton
Exhibitions
2025 The White Room Gallery, What’s Not to Love, East Hampton, NY, group exhibition
2024 The White Room Gallery, Cryptic, East Hampton, NY, group exhibition
2024 The White Room Gallery On the Edge, East Hampton, NY, group exhibition
2023 The White Room Gallery, Naughty / Nice, East Hampton, NY, group exhibition
2023 Corridor Contemporary, Philadelphia Featured, Philadelphia, PA, group exhibition
2023 The White Room Gallery, Yin Yang, Bridgehampton, NY, group exhibition
2023 OC Arts Center, Subject to Change, solo show, Ocean City, NJ
2022 Era Contemporary Gallery, Legends of the Moon. In collaboration with NASA’s Lunar Codex destined for the moon, Polaris Mission 2023
2022 Corridor Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia Featured, group exhibition
2021 Corridor Contemporary Gallery, Person to Person: An International Survey of Portraiture, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Alfa Art Gallery, Configured Personas group exhibition, New Brunswick, NJ
2020 Las Laguna Gallery, Portraits, Laguna Beach, CA, group show
2020 Solo show, Portraits & Pop, Ocean City Arts Center, Ocean City, NJ
2019 Viridian Artists Gallery 30th International Juried Exhibition, New York, NY
2019 Philadelphia Sketch Club 11th Annual Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Maxum Gallery, Hearts and Minds, Atlantic City, NJ, group exhibition
2019 Newport Beach Annual Art Exhibition, Newport Beach, CA
2018 Sotheby’s Ad Art Show, group exhibition, New York, NY, group exhibition
2016 Touchstone Gallery, Art As Politics National Juried Exhibition, Washington DC
2016 Featured in Creative Quarterly Journal