February Exhibit At Ocean City Arts Center Blends Life And Pop Culture

OCEAN CITY, NJ — February's exhibit at the Ocean City Arts Center features paintings that blend modern life with pop culture references.

The Gallery at the Ocean City Arts Center’s February exhibit features paintings by Paul D. Fuentes. The show opens Jan. 31 and runs through Feb. 27 . A Meet the Artists reception will be held on Friday, Feb. 10 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

According to the Arts Center, Fuentes’ paintings have been shown in galleries on the east and west coasts and in the nationally juried Art In Politics show at Touchstone Gallery in Washington D.C. The White Room Gallery in the Hamptons and Corridor Contemporary in Philadelphia currently represent his work. As a director, Fuentes’ film 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 The Houston International Film Festival.

The Arts Center describes Fuentes' paintings as such:

Paul’s paintings often blend modern life with pop culture references. A woman takes a selfie by her wrecked Rolls Royce; another takes a selfie (her last?) at Mount Kilimanjaro. Memorializing moments— significant and banal— onto devices is an ongoing theme. His portraits question the nature of identity and transfer to the viewer an invitation to be complicit. Subjects are often depicted in wardrobe that creates an obvious illusion. Putin, in a T-shirt popular with fitness buffs (“Sun’s Out, Guns Out”) is posed like St. Francis. In this context however, the statement seems quite literal. Replacing familiar contexts with new ones, history may become fiction prompting viewers to create their own narratives.

Fuentes is a graduate of The Tyler School of Art and Architecture of Temple University (BFA, magna cum laude). His design and illustration work has appeared in ads and publications including The New York Times. He was a creative director at HBO and soon became a director, directing TV commercials, promo campaigns and shows. With Screen Gems he opened Huge, his own New York production company.

The Ocean City Arts Center is located on the second floor in the Community Center at 1735 Simpson Avenue, Ocean City. Hours of operation are 9am to 9pm, Monday through Friday and 9am to 3pm on Saturday. The Arts Center is closed on Sunday. For further information, call (609) 399-7628. Check out the Ocean City Arts Center on Facebook and Instagram.