A brand new physique of labor by Andrew Salgado (previously) unfurls from a central premise: we’re the books we learn. The artist, who works between London and New Brunswick, Canada, is literarily insatiable and considers each unread tome a possibility of “infinite chance.”
At BEERS London, Salgado’s Self-Portrait as a Stack of Books presents a collection of work that open like chapters and collectively, construct a bigger narrative. “My Yr Of Relaxation And Rest” immediately references Ottessa Moshfegh’s bleary novel of the identical title and depicts a younger protagonist inert and indifferent. There’s additionally “Véra (Please Come Over, You’re All the time Welcome),” which portrays a resolute Véra Nabokov writing what is perhaps considered one of her since destroyed letters.
Salgado is regularly serious about quotation and the ways in which recollections and experiences layer atop and mould each other. Lots of the authors he’s drawn to—Virgina Woolf, Jorge Luis Borges, and Margaret Atwood amongst them— “are influenced by artwork. By music and portray. They write about it on a regular basis. The phrase is ekphrasis,” he provides. “Nabokov lists over 150 work in his collected works. So why shouldn’t the inverse even be true?”
Intuitive marks of oil paint and pastel characterize Salgado’s works and appear to construct up over time. Irregular stripes and circles add higher depth and dimension to patches of colour delineating a gown or facial characteristic, leaving every scene with a sure indeterminacy. Permitting for interpretation and an array of non-public references is important to the artist’s considering: “It’s prepared for the taking. And no matter you are taking from it—from the books, or the work, or the concepts inside—it’s all proper. It’s all appropriate. There aren’t any mistaken solutions,” he says.
Self-Portrait as a Stack of Books is on view via June 28. Discover extra on Salgado’s website and Instagram.
