Artist Bio

Born in the United States to Chilean immigrants in 1979 and raised in Vancouver, WA, Pablo Kerns has been a resident of the Portland metropolitan area for over 20 years. He is known by his friends and within his local art community as “Pablito”. This nickname was given to him as a child by his family and is what he currently uses to sign his artwork. Fear, bravery, love, lust, vice, whimsy, and wisdom are just a few of the themes that he brings to life through his colorful characters. Pablito celebrates the human form and pushes the boundaries of conventional concepts of beauty with his flirtatious subject matter.

While typically utilizing live models for his artworks, Pablito captures the human form using a range of themes from playful to solemn. His artwork comes in many different mediums including but not limited to acrylic painting, collage, digital photography, and digital illustration. Always the environmentally-conscious artist; Pablito's artwork oftentimes utilizes reuse materials such as secondhand paint and crafting materials, wood scraps, cabinetry doors, and other found objects.

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Pablito is also the curator of ongoing group art shows like MANTASTIC NW and various art exhibitions in Portland, Oregon. His passion is to host events that highlight Portland-based artists who celebrate the diverse human form. It is his effort to raise awareness of gender bias, homophobia, and body shaming within the general public and art communities. 

 

Pablito's art has been featured on MTV’s Music Experiment, PQ Monthly, El Hispanic News, Vancouver Vector, Queer Voices, Wild Planet Radio and has had solo shows in galleries throughout the Portland Metropolitan area and The Castro District in San Francisco.

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