Through photography, video, installations and drawing, Ed. de la Torre explores themes of love, Buddhism and the changing landscape of Los Angeles. He often uses multiple images, repetition and other visual rhythms in his work.
A Buddhist since 1984, de la Torre has used pop culture to explore tenets of Buddhism. “Ten Worlds,” featuring hyper-edited clips from Streisand movies on 10 screens, was presented at AFI in Hollywood, New Langton Arts in San Francisco and White Columns in New York.
His same-sex couples series, “Eyes in the Same Direction” began in 1999. In this ongoing project, the photograph of one partner is cut in half and placed over the other partner’s picture, resulting in one face. In these 6”x 4” portraits, there is no digital manipulation. The artist believes that this deceptively simple act conveys the undefinable and profound connection between lovers. Recently, de la Torre has adapted this project as larger than life pastel drawings.
The cinematic nature of de la Torre’s current drawings often feature a variety of ornate mirrors. These are used to represent the myriad of possibilities in a single moment as well as the passage of time. His pastel drawing, “Self-Portrait/Reinvention” shows him as an 18 month old observing multiple reflections of his contemporary self.
The artist has also served as a curator at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions and Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies. In 1992 and again in 1993 he was executive producer of Out Auction, a benefit for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. As part of Out Auction, he conceived of, requested and received original tattoo designs by David Hockney, John Baldessari, Ross Bleckner, Jenny Holzer among others.
Ed. de la Torre holds degrees from L.M.U. and Cal Arts and has exhibited his work across the U.S., Mexico and Europe.