Souther Salazar was born in 1978 in Hayward, CA. In the early 1990s, as a teenager in rural Oakdale, Salazar made photocopied cut-and-paste mini-comics and ‘zines. After graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, he moved to Los Angeles where he lived and worked for ten years before re-locating to Central California, where he is currently based.
Souther Salazar’s highly imaginative paintings and sculptures reinterprets the world into a mythical place full of carnivals, lost cities, dinosaurs and other fantastical creatures. His paintings share the joy and excitement of adventure through his unique sense of storytelling. Utilizing a wide variety of freely mixed media, found objects and layers of assemblage, his work evokes the wonders and imagination that many of us abandoned in childhood. In his work there are references to real places he’s been to. But also places that only excist in his mind.
By combining these two he’s able to build worlds where he can remember and imagine at the same time. And if you have a close look at his work, you might even find a few keys… A little game his nephew invented when he found a key in one of the paintings while visiting the studio. Since that day Souther Salazar hides a key every now and then in his work. So have a good look, you might find one…
All images belong to Souther Salazar
