Perry Vasquez was born in Los Angeles and relocated to North Carolina at a young age. Vasquez graduated with a BA in Political Science and Studio Art from Stanford University and a MFA in Visual Art from University of California, San Diego.

Vasquez served as a curator at the Centro Cultural de la Raza from 1993-1997 and operated Ice Gallery in San Diego from 2001-2004. In addition, worked as a graphics specialist at the Interactive Cognition Lab at UC San Diego under Dr. David Kirsh, to develop a website devoted to multimedia learning and the research and development of artistic ideas. Vasquez has developed an array of printmaking practices such as “motography”, which uses recycled motor oil for fine art printmaking.

Vasquez has exhibited his artwork in group and solo exhibitions locally and internationally and is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and Laguna Beach Art Museum. Vasquez is currently the Associate Professor of Art at Southwestern College, CA.

“My artwork is a conceptual attempt to blend the many contradictory cultural influences that have informed and affected me throughout my life. Art making became a way to connect with my heritage. The desire to discover my roots later combined with my love of painting, drawing, and storytelling to shape my cultural outlook, aesthetic sensibility, and artistic trajectory. I began to explore a diverse range of cultures and pictorial iconographies – from Western art history to American popular culture to Pre-Columbian art and beyond. I happily discovered that weaving together these diverse visual threads induced a delightful clash of cultural symbols that was critical, funny, and engaging.” – Vasquez