Bio
Manuel Perez is an artist and art educator based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has a passion for visual arts and a proven ability to create high-quality paintings and illustrations. He works as a freelance artist, as well as an art teacher. He has a BFA in Communication Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and is an MFA candidate and the University of Nevada Reno.  Perez's paintings and illustrations reflect his diverse influences and experiences, as well as his artistic vision and style.

 

Artist Statement

Manny Perez’s oil paintings of action figures explore the profound connections between nostalgia, identity, and human experience, highlighting how these themes are intertwined with the objects we cherish. The act of painting becomes a form of self-exploration, linking personal reflection to wider cultural and historical narratives.

Perez views action figures as more than mere representations; they possess "vibrant materiality" and agency, imbued with societal values and ideologies. He captures their hidden essence by meticulously exploring form, texture, and light. Influenced by Phillip Colbert’s Pop-surrealism and Brian McCarty’s subversive toy narratives, Perez creates dynamic visual conversations by juxtaposing various objects like action figures, LEGOs, and die-cast cars.

This juxtaposition "queers" these objects, disrupting their intended narratives and creating new meanings as a form of resistance to dominant ideologies. Informed by Patrick Wolfe’s concept of settler colonialism, Perez's work reveals how these toys act as vectors of cultural transmission, often tied to narratives of dominance and erasure. He aims to denaturalize these processes, as seen in his depiction of Hulk Hogan receiving the "Camel Clutch".

Perez's upbringing in a military family instilled an awareness of how systems and narratives shape identity. Childhood toys, for him, were carriers of cultural values, often reinforcing dominant American ideologies and idealized figures. By emphasizing their artificiality and vulnerability, such as with a G.I. Joe figure, he challenges narratives of militarism and conventional gender representations.

Ultimately, Manny Perez's art seeks to spark curiosity, challenge perceptions, and prompt reflection on our relationships with objects. His paintings are both beautiful and unsettling, familiar yet strange, inviting contemplation and provoking dialogue about the power dynamics embedded in even the most innocent objects.