Antonio Pelayo
Born in Glendale, CA, and raised in the Mexican countryside, Antonio Pelayo uses his artwork to question ideologies of home, identity, and trust. Moving from a quintessential American suburb replete with white picket fences to a tiny village of adobe churches urged Pelayo to adapt, while simultaneously searching for himself amongst the teasing cries of other children. Looking for solace, he picked up a pencil and began to draw using the murals of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Orozco to inspire him.
Upon moving back to Glendale, his world was once again upended and he once again used his artwork as a way to forge connections. In 1994, he joined Disney Studio’s Ink & Paint Department where he learned traditional celluloid animation techniques. It was in this context that Pelayo could imagine his portrait works could be exhibited, and have a direct, powerful impact on an audience. The intimacy and vulnerability between the subject and artist is one facet of what inspires Pelayo to create hyper-realistic and extremely detailed portraits. A stark contrast to the linework that he has worked on at Disney for over two decades, his fine art pieces explore the most intimate pieces of ourselves.
Solo Exhibitions
2014
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Untitled | Disney Animation Studios | Burbank, CA
2012
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Mi Familia | LAUNCH Gallery | Los Angeles, CA
2002
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Silver Lining | Disney Animation Studios | Burbank, CA.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016
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Tauaje | Museo Casa de Trotsky | Mexico City, MX;
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Contemporary Nostalgia | LAUNCH Gallery | Los Angeles, CA;
2015
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LAMAG Group Show | Barnsdall Gallery | Los Angeles, CA;
2014
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Crossing Borders | University Art Gallery, California State University Dominguez Hills | Carson, CA;
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Monochromart | LAUNCH Gallery | Los Angeles, CA;
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Like Father Like Son | Creative Art Center | Burbank, CA;
2013
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LA Art Show | La Convention Center | Los Angeles, CA;
2012
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De Colores | Santa Paula Museum | Santa Paula, CA;
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LA Art Show | LA Convention Center | Los Angeles, CA;
2011
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Adelante | Forest Lawn Museum | Glendale, CAl
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Small Works | Freemont Gallery | Pasadena, CA;
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De Colores | Santa Paula Museum | Santa Paula, CA;
2009
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Summer Group Show | Lawrence Asher Gallery | Los Angeles, CA;
2008
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Nuestra Historia | Riverside Metropolitan Museum | Riverside, CA;
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Anniversary Show | Crewest Gallery | Los Angeles, CA;
2007
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International Art Festival | Museum of Modern Art | Yerevan, Armenia;
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Figures A Group Show | Mendenhall Sobieski Gallery | Pasadena, CA;
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FADA | Barker Hangar, Mendenhall Sobieski | Santa Monica, CA;
2006
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Day of the Dead | Mendenhall Sobieski | Pasadena, CA;
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Tarfest Juried Show | Craft & Folk Art Museum | Los Angeles, CA;