RABI (born David Emanuel Mordechai Torres in 1984) is a first-generation American Rabi Towing For Known Hitch, The NTWRK, the NTWRK.com, Dec 9, 2022 visual artist of Puerto Rican and Polish descent from Los Angeles, California.Rabi Towing Official Website He is known for being part of the artist collective, CYRCLE. RABI's works can be seen in public and private collections including that of Shepard Fairey, Ari Emanuel, Sean Combs, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, MOCA Detroit, Bishop Museum in Hawaii, MGM Grand in Las Vegas, The Art of Elysium, the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, and the Urban Nation Museum Berlin.Artist, RabiArtbute, Rabi Bio, 2020Bell Arts Factory, Mention Of Rabi: Muralist, 2015Artist RABI Completes Mural at Venice Taproom, Firestonebeer.com, November 9, 2021Global Street Art: David “Rabi” Torres and Peaceful Revolution, Iran Wire, 2021 Hublot & Shepard Fairey Come Together In Hollywood To Launch A New Timepiece, October 2022, Hubolt.com
Career RABI's works stem from his early life as a graffiti writer, skateboarder and muralist.RABI Paints mural for Firestone Brewing Company in Venice, Nov 10, 2021, VenicePaparazzi.com#NOTACRIME Worldwide Street Art Campaign for Educational Equality In Iran, Express Magazine, 2021Global Street Art: David “Rabi” Torres and Peaceful Revolution, Iran Wire, 2021 Through skateboarding and graffiti, RABI began practicing art in public spaces, as well as capturing his personal world through video and photography.Featured Artists, Art of Development, 2022 Themes of contradiction, duality, and sociopolitical philosophy become visible throughout RABI's work. In 2009 RABI co-founded the art collective CYRCLE along with David Leavitt and Devin Liston (Liston left in 2012),UNRTD, CYRCLE, 2018 Mural which gained international notoriety and allowed for him to take his love for public installation to a worldwide audience.In The Spotlight: Muralist RABI, VenicePaparazzi.com, November 11, 2021
He spent a full decade building CYRCLE while growing his skills in video, design, photography, painting and sculpture. During this time he worked throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America.Artist-duo CYRCLE Converts an Underground Parking Structure into a Colorful Universe, UNRTD, Montreal, 2015 While working with CYRCLE, RABI collaborated with artists, brands and non-profits including, HBO, Uber, Pharrell, TED Prize winner- JR,Rabi x JR Collaborate With Branded Arts Among Other Artists For Maya Angelou Festival, NY Times, July 2019 James Lavelle, Chad Muska, Woodkid, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and Audi, among others.
In 2021 RABI participated in the worldwide public art campaign, #NOTACRIME for educational equality in Iran. RABI's mural was painted over the summer in New York and the piece directly confronts the shattered educational system, "a result of an entire minority being barred just because of their beliefs." The mural is in keeping with his previous work – all of which has focused on society and the human condition. The owner of a nearby building, overlooking the Nelson Mandela Memorial Garden at the corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 126th Street, offered the wall of her building to help the project.Global Street Art: David “RABI” Torres and Peaceful Revolution, Iran Wire, 2021 That same year, he was commissioned by Firestone Walker Brewing Company in Venice to paint a large-scale mural on the building.RABI Paints Mural For Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Atrbute.com, October 13, 2021Artist RABI Completes Mural At Venice Taproom, Firestone Beer, 2021
One year later, in 2022 RABI RABI Official Website held his first large solo exhibition, after his time in Street art collective, CYRCLE, titled gen+esc (generation+escape).RABI Remixes Reality At Nomad Gallery, LA Weekly, September 2022 This was also his directorial debut. The show opened on September 15, 2022 in West Hollywood, California, at Nomad Gallery and ran through October 15, 2022. The exhibition was a series of short art films that “explored the relationship between identity and the artistic process.” Artist Rabi (CYRCLE) Solo Exhibition to Launch at Nomad Gallery in West Hollywood - WEHO TIMES West Hollywood News, September, 2022 Each short-film cross-examined Rabi Generation Escape Examining Existence In West Hollywood, BrooklynStreetArt.com, August 29, 2022 “the role of image in personal narratives and reimagines the embodiment of self, depicting a world free of conventional posturing,” said RABI.Artist Rabi (CYRCLE) Solo Exhibition to Launch at Nomad Gallery in West Hollywood - WEHO TIMES West Hollywood News, September, 2022 An interactive experience, guests were invited to utilize AR technology that cast imagery onto green-screen components throughout the space, including the building’s facade and different sculptures while experiencing the show. Exclusive NFTs and prints were available throughout the exhibition for purchase as well.Artist Rabi (CYRCLE) Solo Exhibition to Launch at Nomad Gallery in West Hollywood - WEHO TIMES West Hollywood News, September, 2022Artfix Daily, Nomad Gallery Presents _gen+esc, August 2022
In August 2023 RABI continued his solo exhibition gen+esc (generation+escape), this time in Berlin.Rabi Towing's gen esc at the Urban Nation Museum in Berlin, Opening September 13th, Artbute.com, 2023PROJECT M/20_generati0n+escape_ _thoughts_and_c0ntradicti0ns_//_seas0n_01:02_B, UrbanNation.com, August 2023 The exhibition opened at the new Urban Nation Museum satellite gallery, in Neukölln, and took place during Berlin Art Week, featuring short art films, installations, print editions, and ceramic sculptures, produced in part by ARTXIV.artxiv.comGen+esc by Artist Rabi, Booooooom.com, September 12,2023 There he also created his first mixed-reality mural commissioned by Project PM 20 in Prenzlauer Berg. PM 20 One Wall by Rabin UrbanNation.com, October 2023
In January 2024 RABI participated in a group exhibition titled The Cat Art Show in Los Angeles at the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace and 10% of art sales went to the fund.Cats On Display At Whimsical LA Cat Art Show, January 2024, LATimes.com
In March 2024 RABI was invited by HK Walls Hong Kong Time Out, March 2024, TimeOut.com and the Hong Kong Consulate to create a mural in collaboration with the US Consulate General, Hong Kong in Sheung Wan. He was the only artist selected to represent the United States as an artist from each nation was hand picked to participate. HKwalls Street Art Festival 2024: turning ordinary walls into original art in Hong Kong, South China Post, 2024 There he also exhibited works for Art Basel Hong Kong As well as hosted a screening and Q&A at the Soho House Hong Kong for his current short film works, Gen+esc.Festivals: Rabi At Wa In Fong, HKWALLS.Org, March 2024
In 2026, RABI presented his solo exhibition We Buy Souls! at the Good Mother Gallery in Los Angeles, which marked the first time his long-running public art intervention was translated into a gallery setting.Rabi Towing: We Buy Souls, Good Mother Gallery, 2026 The project, which originated in 2022 as a series of mysterious posters appearing on telephone poles and walls across Los Angeles and other cities, featured a hotline that allowed the public to leave messages regarding the value of their souls, ultimately collecting over 40,000 voicemails.Mysterious Posters Popping Up Across LA Saying 'We Buy Souls', Endtime Headlines, 5 February 2025 Saw this near my local Target, Reddit, 21 March 2022 The exhibition featured a comprehensive collection of audio, video, documentation, performance art, sculpture, and paintings, alongside interactive elements such as official contracts and a limited-edition monograph.Rabi Towing: We Buy Souls, Good Mother Gallery, 2026
Selected exhibitions and works
2026, RABI, We Buy Souls!, Good Mother Gallery, Los Angeles, CA USA 2023, RABI, _gen+esc, Urban Nation Museum, Berlin, Germany 2022, RABI, _gen+esc, Nomad Gallery, Los Angeles, CA USA 2019, Rabi x JR Collaboration, Branded Arts Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Los Angeles, CA USA 2017, POW! WOW! Art Festival, Arad, Israel 2015, RABI, NOTHING EXISTS, Montreal, Canada 2012, RABI, ORGANIZED CHAOS!, Los Angeles, CA USA 2011, RABI, CYRCLE, WE NEVER DIE!, Design Matters, Los Angeles, CA USA
References
External links https://rabitowing.com/ Check Out Rabi Towing David Emanuel Mordechai Torres’s Story, Voyage LA, Voyagela.com, 2026 Art Around The World: Dr. Maya Angelou High School Mural Festival, LA WEEKLY, July 2019 Maya Angelou Mural - Rabi & JR Collaboration Via Branded Arts, This Is Colossal, July 2019 Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Rabi & JR Collaboration Via Branded Arts, Unframed, LACMA.org, July 18, 2019 Shepard Fairey, JR, and Other Artists Painted Murals Honoring Maya Angelou at a High School, Art Net, June 2019 RABI of CYRCLE teams up again with French artist JR’s inside out project, Maya Angelou Mural Festival 2019, Graffiti Street, June 2019 RABI Remixes Reality At Nomad Gallery, LA Weekly, September 2022 Rabi & Masego Attend Hublot & Shepard Fairey Timepiece Collaboration In Hollywood, October 2022, Hubolt.com Water Garden, Featured Artists, wg-la.com, 2023 With A Little Help From My Friends, Gallery III, Thinkspaceprojects.com, June 2024 Wall Tales with RABI, US Consulate Honk Kong Youtube, 2024