Java.Dec.2.2015

took on his parents’ love of music and submerged himself in the local music
scene. His first foray was a project called Mexikatek Productions with Nico
Paredes, which brought innovative Spanish-speaking bands to Phoenix.
By chance and through the magic of the muse of music, Torres was
distributing fliers for Mexikatek at Hair Pollution when his fashion sense
caught the eye of the receptionist—so much so that the receptionist
requested that Torres meet the owner, Tad Caldwell. Torres eventually
became Caldwell’s client, and through their friendship Caldwell recognized
the creativity in Torres and persuaded him to attend beauty school and
later apprentice for him.
While at the shop, Torres hosted several shows and worked faithfully for
six years before opening up Palabra in 2012. Palabra was originally in
the smaller space—a former bail bond office—in the same building it is
in now. The older space was about one-third the size of the current one.
Though there have been lots of changes over the three years, and the
number of artists involved with the Palabra brand is at an all-time high, the
vision has stayed the same: invest in the new.
For in Torres’ own story there’s a lot he owes to being given a chance.
Caldwell recognized him as someone with a lot of potential and saw skills
within his arsenal that Torres might not have seen himself. The impact of
that is not lost on Torres, who as a curator is driven to bring out the best
in the artists he represents. They are growing with him, emerging out of
the shadows to produce art that is forever challenging—expanding on the
blank canvas that often attracts people to Phoenix.
The challenge within any city is gaining exposure. How do nontraditional
artists generate support when they haven’t met the people who will
feature their art in a way that honors them? Torres is very much committed
to preserving and respecting the individual processes of the artists,
whom he often finds on the periphery. “You think of someone coming out
of the shadows and how vulnerable and private that is. They are often
over protective of themselves and their work,” Torres said. With that
understanding, Torres is delicate with artists who have been behind the
scenes, for whatever reason, but not for lack of talent.
Torres stresses that Palabra’s main orientation is incorporating the new
into everything they do. When you look around the space, there are
three pieces hung on the center wall, and one in particular arrests my
attention in a strange, perplexing way. The piece looks like a hazy Technicolor
interpretation of a character from “Where the Wild Things Are,” and it
immediately challenges all my notions of what a monster is. The piece seems
to be a testament to the duplicity of suffering and pain in a way that feels new.
There are about 30 different hues in it, and I can count at least six different
shades of blue. The artist responsible for this piece is Josh Brizuela.
There are few people in Phoenix as invested as Torres, and he doesn’t
stop moving. The day I walked into Palabra, he had his hands immersed
in water, shampooing a client’s hair. I’ve seen him outside the shop at
odd hours of the night sweeping and doing maintenance. Along with his
fiancée, Priscilla, he is creating space and emerging in real time. You can
talk about change all you want, but if you aren’t in the trenches, you will
get run over.
Josh Brizuela
Palabra Featured Artist
Brizuela will be the featured artist in the opening show at the new
Palabra space. He is tasked with delivering the new—embarking on an
emerging tomorrow—and there’s probably nobody better in Phoenix for
that right now.
Brizuela was raised in the greater Phoenix area. In high school he didn’t
talk much at all, but he created a vocabulary of communication between
himself and his peers through his sketches. “I would listen to kids who
were just talking without recognizing what they were saying,” said
Brizuela. “It felt like a snapshot of time. I would turn their words into art.
I was literally translating a moment through drawing, which was the only
way I really expressed anything.”
14 JAVA
MAGAZINE