OUR COVER THIS MONTH reflects
the work of a fascinating artist—im- ages both compelling and at times a bit unnerving due to the intensity. They are not portraits, they are gripping, painterly stories culled from the experi- ences of each subject and the man who paints them.
HERE’S MORE FROM THE ARTIST HIMSELF:
Tell me a little about your background. When did you decide to become a painter and where did you study? I’ve always been interested in art. Since I was a little
kid, it was really all that I ever saw myself doing. Now I really can’t visualize myself inhabiting any other role. I often say that being an artist is the only thing that actually defines who I am as a human being. You often hear people saying that being gay
doesn’t define them and in fact I feel strongly that it’s like the inverse of that: I’m an artist first…everything I do is informed by art and my relationship to it. More specifically, I’m a 31 year old Canadian based
in London, where I’ve lived for over six years and have made my home. I’m an MA graduate from the Chelsea College of Art who decided to quit all the other ‘daylight’ jobs at about 25 years old. It was a scary, cathartic decision that was perhaps the most important decision I’ve ever had to make and I’ve never looked back. Who would you say are/were your biggest influences? On a greater level I cull inspiration from a lot of
different sources. A lot of people have been hugely influential in my life and continue to provide sources of inspiration. The more obvious examples are my partner, my parents, close friends. My partner and I have been through quite a bit together, which I realize is a cliché of sorts, but after seven years we have lived in three countries, traveled together to over 30, growing personally and professionally. We experienced a year of being totally broke and even survived the victimization of a hate crime assault in 2008, which became a motivating factor for my work. My greatest single inspiration (in terms of art and
also ideology) is Francis Bacon. Wildly lauded as the greatest painter of the second half of the 20th century (after Picasso, who is considered the greatest painter of the first half…both apt accreditations). What I
38 RAGE monthly | MARCH 2014
Andrew Salgado
by joel martens
admire is his “no bones about it” accounts of his art. Listening to old interviews in which he talks about his art is so refreshing…such candor, such whittled- down honesty. There is no artsy-fartsy bullshit, just a frank, often very self-aware, but ultimately boiled down perspective on art and life. I admire the fact that he knew he had power but spoke with such elegance about himself and his work. He was outspokenly gay and without reserve in a time when it wasn’t politically okay to do so. It could
A MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES
have hurt his career, but he was an activist in his own right. There is a brilliant BBC interview series from the ‘80s in which I found myself clapping and cheering at some of his answers. He was a cheeky bastard, but brilliant all the same. I hesitate to call your paintings portraits, they are so much less rigid than traditional portraiture, do you have a clas- sification that you prefer to use? I loathe the term “portrait.” A portrait refers to the accurate representation of someone’s likeness…
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