Klaus Gallery is pleased to present the debut of To You, My Immortal Flame, a video-animated film by David Torres. The film is featured as a part of the current show at the gallery, entitled Mask. The film is the first feature length work by Torres. It presents his Sunkeepers cinematic universe, a symbolist sci-fi narrative following warriors and villains as they navigate love and war in a fantastical and richly textured setting.




David Torres is a NJ/NY based media artist. Recent exhibitions include the Beyond Part Film Festival in Kolkata, India, and Stranger Loops at Foley Gallery in NY. Torres holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts. David currently teaches at Rutgers University & University of Hartford.

Born in West Palm Beach, FL, Torres is interested in the history of stories where the unseen forces of morality are at work. The PTSD factor embedded in culture has drawn David's work to the idea of the “hero” as an empathic ideal for people to aspire to. Torres is also interested in the illusion and delusional discussions that surround the complexities of the racial, sexual, religious, aging; old and young identities in culture. As a way of investigating these identities David Torres created “Riakman”, an alter ego, designed under the influences of 1990’s anime, video games, and his father’s middle school drawings. By channeling “Riakman”, David finds pathways through high art and popular culture. Through Riakman, David tells stories within his fictional planet “Runetech” about a way of being in the world. Exploring a narrative with an embedded nostalgia for the future is the illusion David Torres uses to contend with the disillusions that exist within culture.


On October 30, Klaus Gallery hosted an online special event on Zoom showcasing animated videos, musical performances, and a Q & A session with Torres and several of his collaborators. The recording of that event is below.