josé soto
b. San Sebastián, P.R. 1976
Studied at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas where he obtained a B.A. in Image and Design, in 2000. From 1997 to 2000, he worked as photography assistant in the studio of John Betancourt.
In 2004, Soto founded Eclipse Multimedia, a company that offers photographic and graphic design services. In 2006, he won the Gold Award in the category of Fashion and Advertising granted by the magazine B&W Photography. That same year he was in charge of the photography of the book Puerto Rico True Flavors edited by Chef Wilo Benet. In 2007, he won a prize in the category of Special Events of the XIX Certamen Excel of the Asociación de Relacionistas Profesionales de Puerto Rico. In 2008 he was among the finalists in the Certamen de Arte Joven Oriental and the Beca Lexus Para Artistas. Since 1998, his artistic work has been exhibited in seven group exhibitions at the Viota Gallery, the Escuela de Artes Plásticas, the Oriental Group and the Universidad Metropolitana. In 2002, he made a work for the public art exhibition Absolut Art in the Plaza which took place in Old San Juan. In 2008, he presented three solo shows: Acuario at Emporio Peroni in Condado, P.R., Dimensiones at Payá Native Bistro and José Soto: Recent Works in Viota Gallery, in collaboration with Walter Otero Gallery, in Güaynabo, P.R.
His work is represented in the following collections: Arco Capital Management, Maximum Digital Communications, Wilo Benet, Luis Gutiérrez, Pabón family, Quiñónez family, León family and Walter Otero.
artist statement
I want my pictures to reveal what is behind our immediate reality, to be playful and mysterious. I strive to explore structures and forms that are repeated in nature. I am captivated by the “concealed machinery” behind all that exists. From my perception, these works evoke the essence of structures such as bridges and temples, as well as natural and astral landscapes. I imagine that these spaces house memories, feelings, and thoughts that together compose the real being of things. They are spaces that can only be contemplated and where one can only be.
