Exhibition

Koffler Gallery, 2018
Photo documentation by Toni Hafkenscheid

Argentinian born, Québec based artist José Luis Torres subverts the meaning of everyday materials to examine notions of space and place, generating whimsical artworks where spontaneity and accumulation recur in connection to ideas of economy, survival, labour and the ready-made.

In this new site-specific installation, Torres focuses on three notions central to the experience of migration: construction, camouflage and reflection. Attempting to blend into a new cultural milieu and to mirror social conventions is a familiar process to newcomers. As assimilation indelibly affects one’s sense of identity, layers of individuality risk being chipped away or reconfigured into ever more complex self-expression.


Metaphorically exploring the adaptation strategies and fluid reinvention of immigrant identity, Torres’ enfolding construction reflects the state of precariousness and perpetual change intrinsic to the immigrant condition.

Artist Info

José Luis Torres  was born in Argentina and has been living and working in Québec since 2003. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts, a Master’s Degree in Sculpture and a degree in Architecture. His work has been showcased in many solo and group exhibitions, as well as public interventions in both Canada and abroad, including Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (Québec), Human Cities/Places to be (Brussels, Belgium), Museum London (London, ON), The Works Art & Design Festival (Edmonton – Alberta), Manif d’art the Québec City Biennial (Québec), UCCS Gallery of Contemporary Art, (Colorado Springs, USA), Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture (Edmonton, Alberta), X-Border Art Biennial (Rovaniemi, Finland) and CAFKA – Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener and Area (Cambridge, ON), among many others. Torres has also participated in various artist residencies in Canada, Argentina, the United States, Mexico and Europe.