Jeff Soto, Riverside’s favorite son, is a prolific painter who consistently redefines his visual narrative style and is not afraid to apply it over a large scale.
Jeff is featured at Scope and Aqua and is currently pursuing themes close to his heart, "After a couple years of looking into my past and the city I grew up in, I am starting to revisit some of my previous interests- themes of Man vs. Nature, environment and the mysteries of life itself. I'm interested in how we live, how we depend on resources and what our legacy will be. I'm also embracing freeform thinking and experimentation with how I work, for example painting from an idea rather than a sketch. I am in a very spontaneous mood, and making what needs to be made."
2009 : The Inland Empire, Stolenspace, London
Recently, Jeff has been featured in the Giant Robot Biennale 2 at the Japanese American National Museum and has completed exhibitions in London and Australia.
Stolen Space Installations
Jeff reflects, “I like the street work I did in London, simply because it tapped into a part of my brain and soul that I haven't visited for years. It felt good and it felt familiar even though I haven't had work out in an urban environment in over a decade. It was like riding a bicycle and it came back to me quick. I like the interaction with people that come by, the small sense of danger or uncertainty (even though there was not much to worry about). Gets the adrenalin flowing just a little, reconnects me to when I was 15 and tagging under a bridge. Hopefully I'll do a little more from time to time.”
Giant Robot Biennale 2/15 Years, Japanese American National Museum
Solo Gallery Shows
2009 : The Inland Empire, Stolenspace, London
2010 : Jonathan Levine Gallery
Group Gallery Shows
The Whammy Show, RVCA Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Self Portraits, Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin, Germany
The Blab Show, Copro Nason Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
15 Years of New Image Art, New Image Art, Hollywood, CA
2009 : The Inland Empire, Stolenspace, London
Museum Exhibitions
+ Giant Robot Biennale 2/15 Years,
Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA
+ In the Land of Retinal Delights: The Juxtapoz School,
Laguna Museum of Art, CA
+ Turning in Circles, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA (solo exhibit)
+ Robots- Evolution of a Cultural Icon,
San Jose Art Museum, San Jose, CA
+ Natural and Unnatural: Imagining Landscapes,
Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ
+ Electric Wasteland: Urban Art from L.A.,
Montseratt College of Art, Beverly, MA
+ Drawn to Expression, Art Center College of Design,
Pasadena, CA
+ The Juxtapoz Show,
SOO Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
Turning in Circles, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
You can check in on Jeff Soto and all of his great works by visiting www.jeffsoto.com, http://jeffsotoart.blogspot.com/ And his blog is great, check it out.