Who is Enrique Mora?

Latin American artist Enrique Mora is a rare talent with a natural sense for what is beauty and what is art.  There are two things Mora has been sure of since childhood: that he would never have a nine-to-five job and that he would one day express himself exclusively through his art.  As a self-taught painter, his use of passionate colors and voluptuous shapes has led to a unique interpretation of the female form. His artwork frequently focuses on the many roles of woman--as mother, caretaker, wife, friend, fighter and lover. Whether he’s painting wind-blown hair, a pouting set of ruby red lips, or a wistful glance, viewers are quickly captivated by his welcoming images and bold use of color.

Growing up in the Caribbean, Mora was exposed to the lavish colors of a lush island surrounded by a vast deep blue sea. Not only did the aesthetics of the island serve to influence Mora, but also his Puerto Rican heritage, which is full of color, passion and erotica.  Never deviating from the Island and its Spanish legacy as his central influences, Mora succumbed to his curiosity for different landscapes and culture, which led him to further explore the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Japan, Indonesia and mainland United States. He lived in Miami’s South Beach for nearly a decade where his work was shown in “Galeria Mora” in Miami’s Design District. 

Today, Mora continues to live close the ocean which is a major backup in many of his paintings.  He also maintains a gallery in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, the city of his birth, where local collectors of his work are among an international following that extends as far east as Japan.  Already having exhibited in Japan, Mora has been invited to show his paintings in another Eastern locale this year, Shanghai China.  This combined with his invitation to show at the Florence Biennale in Italy this December makes for an exciting 2009.

“I have always felt the calling of my fate to be a painter.  I frequently focus on human forms, figures interacting, single figures, couples…. I also am drawn to love as a subject - the love between a couple, mother & child, family…women are a particularly strong symbolic element in my paintings and the colors in my paintings reflect the vibrancy of my Caribbean roots.”

- Mora