A tiger’s face, a scenic view of Europe’s Danube River, and the California coastline are gracing the walls at City Hall – all the work of Gilroy photographer Sergio Perez.
For the past five years, the City Hall gallery has given local artists a chance to showcase their talent by featuring six, two-month long exhibits throughout the year, explained City Recreation Supervisor Cathy Mirelez.
Perez, 30, was especially honored because nearly 10 years ago the City purchased his print, “A Vintner’s Dream,” which features a clump of luminescent purple-blue grapes. It was one of the first prints Perez ever sold.
Today, his website features a host of vibrant images that demonstrate the beauty of architecture, landscapes, wildlife and travel. From a picture of the iconic Big Sur Bixby Bridge to an image of a setting sun slipping into brown fields, Perez is all about capturing moments in time.
“I love to travel so I love to do a lot of travel photography,” he said. “I’m very passionate about nature as well.”
The City Hall gallery isn’t his only work on display this month. Perez has teamed up with Gilroy writer and co-photographer Laura Wrede to produce his first published work: “San Francisco: The Heartbeat of the City.”
An excerpt of the book, along with Wrede’s first work, “My Ocean” was on display up until yesterday at the Morgan Hill Community Center.
“It kind of developed and grew out of a love for San Francisco,” said Perez, who notes that the book was created as the two artists worked to find the “heartbeat” of the bustling city through words and photos.
Perez had dabbled with art and photography in high school but became serious about photography at 19, when he got his first professional camera for Christmas.
Perez was a business major at the University of Phoenix in San Jose and worked in the investment industry after he graduated. He left the industry four years ago to travel. He spent two years traveling and saw the East Coast for the first time, along with seven European countries. At each place he went, he stopped and took pictures.
Perez said he and his late best friend, Crystal De La Torre, always abided by the motto: “Live while you live.”
“Just because we are alive doesn’t necessarily mean we are living life to the fullest,” Perez explained.
When De La Torre was killed in a fatal car accident in September 2012, capturing her passion for life became a driving force in Perez’s work.
Just days before the accident, Perez and De La Torre had talked about a trip to Peru, where they planned to fulfill De La Torre’s dream of hiking the Inca Trail.
This July, Perez will fulfill that mission while carrying some of De La Torre’s ashes.
He’s planning a book based on completing this journey, and while the title isn’t decided, he’s considering naming it after their shared motto.
Perez currently works as a part-time consultant at the brokerage firm Ellington Financial LLC in Gilroy, while he transitions to work as a full-time photographer.
“I’m just excited to share the world and go out and see different parts of the world,” said Perez. “There’s so much to see in this world and it’s so beautiful.”
Perez’s work will be up through the end of February.
City Hall address: 7351 Rosanna St.
Artist’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sperez.photography
Artist’s website: www.sergioperezphotography.com
