Two of my grandparents passed away in the last year, and they went to the funerals even though they’re young. We do not hide it from them at all, you know, like if one of our fish dies or we find a dead rabbit on a walk, we talk about it. They’re too young to fully understand death. V: Was this exploration of mortality more of a catharsis for you or a way of explaining death to your children? Should be a fun show with something for everyone. I think as a whole our work is very different but individually we’re each very strong in what we do. I know Audrey a bit but have never met Judith. How do you feel like this combination of works either compliment or juxtapose one another? V: This is a solo show, but you’re showing at the same time as Audrey Kawasaki’s and Judith Supine’s solo shows. I don’t see it as morbid at all, and I hope the paintings don’t seem too death obsessed! Even though I’ve unofficially titled my show “The Skull Show”. We turn to dust, go back into the Earth to nourish it, and then the cycle repeats. We start aging, and at some point we all will die. Our offspring who come into the world like new flowers, growing and flourishing, eventually meet the same fate as any other living thing. And then the kids repeat the same pattern.
Finding all these relatives really drove home the point that we are born, we have kids, get married, live our life and die. Decay and Overgrowth comes out of this research. The last few years I have researched and got deeper into who these people were. It got me interested in who my ancestors were, and how all my living relatives were related. When I was a teenager I saw Norman Rockwell’s family tree painting where the kid’s ancestors were pirates and Native Americans and cowboys.
So from an early age I was aware that there is some history there, and at some point a teacher I had showed us family trees.
As a kid I knew my grandparents fought in WWII and my grandma would list off all the things we had in us- Irish, Italian, Sioux, Dutch, etc. JS: I started researching my ancestry about seven years ago, well, even before that really. V: In your own words, can you tell us about the underlying themes of Decay and Overgrowth? In this interview, Soto tells Vandalog about the emotional journey this past year has taken him on, including the death of two of his grandparents, and how these events provoked his consideration of mortality which would become a central theme of this show. The show, entitled Decay and Overgrowth, explores life, death and the passage of time. Jeff Soto will be opening his fourth solo show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery on September 8th, alongside the simultaneous solo shows of Audrey Kawasaki and Judith Supine.