Rabi

Rabi (b. 1984) David Emanuel Mordechai Torres is a first-generation American artist of Puerto Rican and Polish descent from Los Angeles. Growing up in both Iowa and Southern California as a child of two immigrants, Torres quickly found comfort in the multifarious atmosphere of American life. Themes of contradiction, escapism and duality, absurdism, and sociopolitical philosophy loom throughout his aesthetic. 

The origins of Rabi’s art stem from his early life as a graffiti writer and skateboarder. He naturally obtained an obsession for practicing art in public spaces, as well as fervently capturing his personal world through video and photography.

In 2009, Rabi co-founded the art collective CYRCLE along with David Leavitt and Devin Liston, gaining international notoriety and allowing him to share his love for public art and installation worldwide. Rabi spent a full decade building CYRCLE while nurturing his video, design, photography, painting and sculpture skills. During this time, he worked throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America.

His art can be seen in public and private collections, including that of Shepard Fairey, Ari Emanuel, Sean Combs, Urban Nation Museum Berlin, The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, MOCA Detroit, MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans. During his time with CYRCLE, Rabi collaborated with artists, brands and non-profits, including HBO, Google, Uber, Pharrell, TED Prize winner - JR, James Lavelle, Chad Muska, Woodkid, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and Audi, among others. He’s been featured in the L.A. Times, The New York Times, L.A. Weekly, Huffington Post, Hypebeast, Lonely Planet and Complex Magazine. Rabi and Davey retired from CYRCLE in 2020. He continues to live and work in Los Angeles.