God & I

In this book, Victori combines his personal story and art philosophy to reflect on the deeper meaning of life through painting. Victori's work depicts historical figures and leaders across music, science, pop culture, government, and world religions. His search for meaning is illustrated and expressed in more than a thousand Multiplism images produced from his oil paintings and sculptures. These images reveal life's complexities and truths and reflect a multitude of purposes, faiths, and influences.

Having painted a number of past presidents and leaders of industry, Victori has had the ear of many successful figures of contemporary American culture. At age 29, Victori moved to the United States, speaking virtually no English, and found himself hand-delivering a presidential mural to President Richard Nixon only a year later. This moment, and others like it, set him on a lifelong journey of studying the dignitaries who rise to the upper echelons of global influence. After five decades of creating his own artistic legacy in pursuit of the truth, Victori leads us through his studied insights on how and why the most well-known icons of world history came to make their mark. There is wisdom richer than the advice of traditional self-help or 'law of attraction' literature. In this book, Victori takes you on an illustrated journey by voyaging through the ages' great ones, their myriad achievements, and a unique philosophy on how to emulate their methods to manifest your dreams and the life you want. This book is for the curious and constantly evolving individual who is interested in expanding their mind through art, introspection, and the one thing that all the greatest have in common. This visual journey is illustrated through Victori's portrait work, which spanned much of his adult life, as well as his unique and divergent method of painting called Multiplism -- a method that layers what is seen in a single portrait and incites a deeper perception of his paintings' subjects. Having gazed upon so many during his career, Victori realized that a single instance of time frozen in a portrait hides the multiple moods, emotions, and states of mind concealed behind stationary, fixed expressions. Multiplism reveals the many behind the one, unfolding all possible dimensions of a being in one multi-faceted piece of work. Victori's advances into Multiplism have brought about paintings such as "The Many Faces of Mona," in which Da Vinci's iconic painting is transformed into a multiple-faced version of her former self. Victori began developing this style of art in the 1970s and continues to evolve its meaning and composition, not just through painting but mural and sculpture work as well.

Victori was born in 1943, the third of six children in a small farming village outside of Seoul, South Korea. His father, a peach farmer and mayor during the Korean War, intended for his son to take over the family business. However, Victori aspired to explore the artistic passion and ability that arose while painting his father's portrait at the age of 9. After serving a few years in the Air Force and finishing studies at the art academy in Seoul, he left South Korea in 1969 and traveled through Europe, to study the works of Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Picasso. After arriving in New York City in 1972, Victori undertook his largest project up until that point—a mural of all the US Presidents. It was delivered to the Nixon White House in 1973 and remains there to this day. During the 70s and 80s, Victori traveled the country, working mostly as a portrait artist, doing various art shows, exhibitions, and private commissions. Once Victori decided his energy had to be shifted back towards his original work, he returned to the Northeast and opened a gallery on Park Avenue in New York City. The space was eventually bought out due to eminent building renovation, and Victori transitioned away from New York City after 20 years to settle in New Jersey.