Born in Berkeley, California to Chilean parents, Miguel Angel Osorio is a talented graphic designer and visual artist with over 25 years of experience as a designer, painter, musician, photographer, director, editor and multi-media artist.

In his paintings, Miguel goes by the Bruce Lee philosophy that no way is the way: the style of no style. Drawing from the physical landscapes of his travels to Latin America and his more inward journeys, he reinvents himself with each painting or series.

He has directed and edited original video content for Ultra Force Visuals, a video marketing company. Miguel helped facilitate Kontent Films’ Kool Jobs episode which featured George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars. He’s written local commercial scripts, created digital storyboards and pre-visualization for broadcast commercials at agencies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

He worked exclusively with the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) for Anthem Worldwide, a strategic design and branding company. Consulted and designed many client acquisition presentations utilizing a cinematographic take on the art of corporate presentations. The list of acquired accounts includes: Coca-Cola, Safeway Inc., Procter & Gamble, and Johnson & Johnson. 

2005 was a big year for Miguel in his career and personal life. He helped re-brand and reposition Film Independent in Los Angeles as well as the Los Angeles Film Festival and Film Independent’s Spirit Awards. 

He played a major part in the saving the lives of 28 elderly residents when a fire broke out at Sojourner Truth Manor in North Oakland. For his efforts, he received a Certificate of Appreciation for Heroic Services from Oakland Fire Department Fire Chief Daniel Farrell, the President’s Plaque of Appreciation for Heroic Services by the Sojourner Truth Manor Board and a letter of Appreciation for Heroic Services, from Senator Barbara Lee of the 9th Congressional District in California.

In 2008, Miguel was part of the creative team to rebrand the iconic Hollywood studio, RKO Pictures and their new horror division, Roseblood Movie Company.

He founded his video company, OBRA Productions in 2009. He works as a creative consultant, video editor and graphic designer and lives in Richmond, Ca with his two boys Enzo and Pablo.

About the Artist & The "Chile en Rojo" (Chile in Red) Series

My art has roots in Chilean culture and the ever-present Spirit that guides me creatively and spiritually. 

The goal in my art is to invoke thought and stimulate spiritual growth.

The “Chile en Rojo” series utilizes boards I found walking around the streets of San Francisco and the East Bay. I saw images in the grains and knots of the plywood. I took them as messages from Spirit that needed to be translated and the message was always about Chile. I limited my color palette to black, burnt umber and ochre as texture; yellow and white as the key spiritual colors within the paintings; red as the blood that was shed during the military coup in Chile on September 11th, 1973. 

In 1998, I visited Chile and witnessed the final act of defiance by the regime leader, Augusto Pinochet, as he retired from his military position to be a self-proclaimed “Senator for Life.” Riots broke out in the city capital of Santiago. I saw the youth battle police and the military water tanks in protest. An exhibition of local artists had images about the coup that were beautiful but mournful and emotionally restrained. I created the Red Series as a rebellious and commanding voice of the Chilean people. The pieces demand responsibility and accountability for the horrors of the coup. 

The first painting, “Comunidad en Rojo (Community In Red),” set the tone and direction for the entire series. I found the board and it was as if the image called to me and said “Hola.” The piece is a montage of community in the campo (country) with elements of city life blended in. It’s the most chaotic of the series.

In “Protesta Para Los Desaparecidos (Protest for the Disappeared),” I refined the technique of translating the image by bringing clarity to the figures and the message. This scene of a community protest I witnessed in ‘98 has three cracks in the wood which I painted white to represent truth piercing dark oppression. The smaller knots are highlighted in white representing the souls departed—los desaparecidos.

“Regocijarse en Rojo (Rejoice in Red)” is about the Sî/No Election of 1988 when the Chilean people voted “NO” to the continuation of the Pinochet leadership. My family went to Chile a year later for the first free elections to cast their vote. “Rejoice” is a very personal piece because I was unable to attend the election. The painting is my connection to that part of Chilean history.

The “Chile en Rojo” series is still growing as I find more pieces of wood with the same message. Drawing on inspiration from the book “Pinochet and Me” by Marc Cooper, it has grown to 15 installation pieces. My vision is to take the series to Santiago, Chile for an exhibition in the presidential palace, La Moneda, where the first freely and democratically elected Marxist president, Salvador Allende, was killed during the coup of 1973.

Miguel Angel Osorio