Souther Salazar introduces a new body of work, Souvenirs, at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York May 18 through June 15, 2013. (Telegraph a Little Story of Yourself, 30 x 42 x 2 inches on wood panel).
Souvenirs features paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations inspired by his 18,000 mile journey across America with his wife and collaborator Monica Choy in support of their performance art and community inspiration trading post entitled, The Trading Tortoise.
The Trading Tortoise commenced in San Diego, on my front lawn, recording Monica and Souther’s longest trading session of record on October 26, 2013. A well attended event deep into the night, Souther and Monica recounted their journey, as we packed their tortoise tent trading post invention, piece-by-piece into the back of their Prius.
Souther’s latest exhibition thoughtfully recounts miles traveled and friends made along the way.
One of my favorite pieces may have been inspired my contribution and trade of a small elephant given to me by my Grandmother.
Souther’s painting, “Grandma’s Elephant,” captures the exchange of my heart-felt story about my Grandmother Evilyn and her love for collecting names, buttons, and elephants. (Grandma’s Elephant/L and The Hand Sewn Bear/R, 28 x 32 x 2 inches on wood panel).
Souther Salazar creates Souvenirs with a whimsical sense of visual narrative in a series of work bound to deeply personal stories about life on the road. Souther’s magical universe muses in the discovery of curious things while repurposing mundane, abandoned dwellings of “what once mixed with the invention eccentric humans creating other-worldly creations. (Souvenir Collector, 30 x 60 x 2 inches on wood panel).
Souther Salazar was born in 1978 in Hayward, California and now based in Portland, Oregon. During early childhood, Souther occupied small living quarters in an antique store that doubled as his childhood home. Master of invention, Souther explored the tinniest of spaces in an effort to find discarded treasures saved for later use and stored in secret drawers.
Each drawer, box and container features small pieces parts that are magically reconstructed in Souther’s paintings, sculptures and installations. Souther Salazar is an important contemporary who works in the spirit of Calder and Mr. Ed Emberley. (Discover more about the Last Trading Tortoise Stop, The Trading Tortoise Intro). (Gold Coin Trucking, 5 x 8 inches, collage on paper).