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| At the age of 9 Fabian Perez became fascinated with the paintbrush. His mother, Edua Herreria, a beautiful Brazilian women, met his father, a handsome and charismatic ladies’ man, Antonio Perez, in the late 1950’s, in Campana, a small city outside Buenos Aires. They married and had four children of whom Fabian is the youngest.
Edua was the creative force in Fabian’s life and Antonio was the inspiration for his work. Fabian witnessed his father’s unorthodox and often difficult life, portraying him in his paintings as “the cool guy” outside nightclubs and bordellos. Antonio owned a number of brothels and illegal nightclubs in Campana, and was frequently chased and closed down by the police. Nevertheless the young Fabian was constantly exposed to beautiful women who could seduce a man “simply by lighting a cigarette”. Today we see these “ladies of the night” exquisitely portrayed in many of Fabian’s paintings - memories of his youth and the nightlife he observed.
Fabian Perez creative influence comes from three categories.
"The first of these is the night time setting for many of his most powerful images. This distinctive trait leads us directly to the door of his father, Antonio, who Fabian has always cited as the inspiration for his work. Antonio owned a number of bordelloes as well as other clubs and was frequently chased and closed down by the police. Thus was born the young Fabian’s fascination with the underground world of night in the city."
"The second visual signpost comes from the women who appear in Fabian’s paintings. The intimacy and respect with which these “women of the night” are portrayed is due in no small part to his upbringing, where he was befriended and often cared for by girls that other schoolboys were being warned against. The warmth and humanity of these women is as central to his images as their beauty and seductiveness. Like Toulouse Lautrec, whose vibrant but humorous portrayals of the Moulin Rouge cancan dancers offered us a uniquely intimate view of these extraordinary women, it is Fabian’s closeness to the reality of his subjects that sets him apart from other artists who might paint such figures from a greater distance."
"Thirdly, there is the constant presence of rhythm which pervades every image, regardless of whether the subject is dancing or simply smoking on a balcony. This complete understanding of the tempo and cadences of the human body comes from two distinct areas of Fabian’s life. One is his own musicianship which is hugely important to him and connects with his artwork on a profound level. The other is his dedication to karate and the philosophy it embodies of identifying the essence of an individual and communicating that central vital spark on the canvas."
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