Ricardo Conrad Flórez was born in Lima, Perú and later his family moved to the city of Ventanilla where he would eventually get involved in the street art movement. Growing up his attention naturally drifted to urban art, comics, and graffiti because that’s where he felt free, unchained, and full of adrenaline. Another big influence on him was Todd McFarlane, the creator of the superhero “Spawn” and bands like Korn, Slipknot, and the Deftones.
Conrad was born to be a painter and states that he never lost his way or had a vocational crisis. He always knew that he was going to be an artist. His parents never objected to his choice of career and the young artist soon realized he could make a living from art. As he grew older, he experimented with several styles and a number of genre, but always came back to his centers; making urban art, seeking freedom, and promoting rebellion.
As soon as he finished high school, he entered a Fine Arts academy. Unfortunately, his expectations of action, active creation, and lots of painting were met with the reality of having to endure endless classes on theory. So, he decided to drop out of school and leave the Fine Arts forever because he felt that he was taking a spot from someone who really wanted to be there.
Despite dropping out he was still able to make a lot of great friends; people like Pésimo and Chimpa, both important figures in the street art scene and both close friends who helped him coming up. He formed a team of artists and forged the artistic collective DMJC (Dedos Manchados en la Jungla de Cemento, translated as “Stained Fingers of the Concrete Jungle”), which soon achieved a degree of notoriety with their many graffiti and murals on the walls of their city.
Today Florez does not limit himself just to painting only street art but also paints pieces for galleries, does interior design work, and has painted large commercial projects for shopping centers. His art has gained a massive number of followers and appreciation, turning him into a central street art figure in his country.
You can follow Conrad Florez on his Instagram account to find out what he’s up to: https://www.instagram.com/conradflorez