BIO
Denis Luzuriaga was born in Quito, Ecuador to a German mother and Ecuadorian father. He is a German and Ecuadorian national and has lived and worked in the US since 1990. He spent his formative years in the US, Brazil, and Ecuador. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, he then moved to Frankfurt, Germany to begin his career as a commercial pre-production illustrator. Luzuriaga combines video, painting, and sound in what can be termed “sense-scapes”. His installation pieces rely on the subtle use of materials and careful integration into the existing space, be it a gallery, an historic house museum, or a 150-year-old mill building. His paintings are figurative and often depict highly detailed works of anonymous characters and places. Denis also collaborates with performance artists and has produced a half hour video program intended specifically for distribution on Public Access Television. He lists some of his influences as: Ecuadorian artist Gonzalo Endara Crow, writers Gabriel García Marquez and Carlos Castañeda, The New Leipzig School, pop artist Ron English, artist John Currin, conceptual artist Nam June Paik, and film director/photographer Camilo Luzuriaga.
CV/RESUME
SUMMARY
I have worked as a fine artist specializing in painting, video, photography, and multimedia disciplines. Additionally, I have worked as a freelance illustrator for 25 years.
SKILLS & ABILITIES
I am fluent in Spanish. I speak German and Portuguese at an advanced level. I have a high level of computer literacy especially in the area of graphics, video, and audio.
EXPERIENCE
ARTIST
1987-PRESENT: Exhibited in various group and solo shows in Western Massachusetts and the NYC area.
2013: Co-organizer of REACH, a multi city art exhibition of contemporary art practitioners. 25 artists exhibiting in non-traditional spaces such as, a high performance computing center, a defunct jail cell block, store front windows for a once thriving department store, a TV repair shop, a 19th century mill, as well as two galleries.
2010-2013: Co-creator and Producer of SWITCH; an arts related television show syndicated on public access TV stations and on the web. Currently at 15 episodes.
ILLUSTRATOR
1990-PRESENT: Working with advertising agency creative departments to produce artwork for the pre-production phase of ad campaigns. The types of works produced are storyboards, comps (comprehensives), and animatics. Selected advertisers: The Absolut Company AB, GlaxoSmithKline, Finlandia Vodka Worldwide Ltd., Toshiba, Procter & Gamble, Exxon Mobile Corporation, Nabisco, Lilly USA LLC, Pfizer.
ILLUSTRATOR
1987-1990 (FRANKFURT, GERMANY): Worked with ad agencies on various campaigns. Selected advertisers: Henkel AG & Co., Kraft Foods, GlaxoSmithKline, L’Oréal.
EDUCATION
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN, TORONTO-1987: FOUR YEAR ASSOCIATE DEGREE
Courses in fine art, contemporary art, design, and photography.
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, TORONTO-1983: FOUNDATION STUDIES
Courses in fine art and design.
COMMUNICATION
I am an exceptional listener and communicator. I take pride in my writing capabilities. I enjoy working in a team situation, be it as part of a design group for an advertising campaign, or as an artist working alongside other artists.
HOLYOKE CABLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBER – Assembled by Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, the committee is helping to negotiate a viable contract with Holyoke’s cable provider to empower the citizens of Holyoke with true “community access television”.
WISTARIAHURST MUSEUM /HOLYOKE – I have worked extensively with the museum staff in various events such as fundraising, garden renovation, live entertainment, special events, and promotion.
JERSEY CITY RESERVOIR PRESERVATION ALLIANCE – Working along like-minded people on this important project, I produced a mini documentary about the reservoir, and designed visual material such as logos, promotional material, etc.
JERSEY CITY LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY – I developed the conservancy logo and promotional material.
TEACHING I have taught drawing classes to small groups of adults at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke.
REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
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