Like artist Scott Campbell, Rodrigo Torres sees paper currency differently than most people. He doesn’t see it as a negotiable instrument, a way to buy necessities or luxuries. He sees it as something to cut into, an incredible art form in the making.
Art Basel (the international contemporary art fair held each June in Basel, Switzerland, aka “the Olympics of the art world”) recently announced that Torres’ work will be one of 20 gallery-curated projects in its special Art Feature sector this year. Take a look at some of his recent work and you’ll understand why. Torres carefully cuts into money and then layers pieces together until they become stunning collages. This emerging artist also isn’t afraid to mix currencies. As ArtSlant wrote, it’s like he’s “mixing economies and cultures almost indistinguishably through the universal language of money.”
When recently asked the question “What is your process?,” Torres answered this:
“I am using to starting with some object that i find, and I try to intervene in a way that has something to do with the fabrication process of that object. For example, in banknotes, I make some interventions with the stylus, very meticulously, because it has to do with the work of the engraver, what he has done there.”
