La sal de la tierra (The Salt of the Earth)

Artist: Quintana, Felix b. 1991

Date: 2024

Medium: Archival pigment print

Artwork Dimensions: 42 x 102 x 3 in.

County Department: Regional Planning

Artwork Site: Hall of Records

Supervisorial District: 1

Current Status: On view

About the Artwork: Felix Quintana's artworks are densely layered collages that depict the people and urban landscapes of Los Angeles County. Having grown up in Lynwood, he draws inspiration from locations connected to his personal history, looking to East, Southeast, and Central Los Angeles to celebrate the County's diverse communities.
 
This artwork is a combination of over fifty layers of photos from the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning archives, personal documentation, and portraits of community members who attended workshops held by Quintana across the County. The artist printed each element onto cyanotype-treated paper - which gives the final image its signature blue coloring and grainy texture - and then scanned each handmade print to create a digital collage. La sal de la tierra (The Salt of the Earth) is a representation of the people and places of Los Angeles, both past and present. Through the signs, maps, aerial views, city streets, graffiti, and architecture juxtaposed with the faces of Angelenos, Quintana has created a portrait of Los Angeles County.

About the Artist: Felix F. Quintana (b. Lynwood, CA, 1991) is a Salvadoran-American artist, photographer, and educator. Quintana's multidisciplinary practice spans photography, digital media, collage, drawing, and installation. Quintana received an MFA in Photography from San Jose State University (2021) and a BA in Art from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (2014). Solo projects include Fantasma Paraiso (2024) presented by Los Angeles Nomadic Division (2024), Cruising Below Sunset, Residency Art Gallery (2022), and Los Angeles Blueprints, Somarts Cultural Center (2019). Select group exhibitions include Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, Vincent Price Art Museum, Center for Photography, Woodstock, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, LA>
Quintana's work has been published in NPR, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, KCET Artbound, and ArtNews. His work is held in the permanent collections of Oakland Museum of California, Altamed Art Collection, and Cal Poly Humboldt. Awards include the Los Angeles Nomadic Division Mohn LAND Grant (2023), LACE Lightning Fund Grant (2023), and Lucas Artist Fellowship at Montalvo Arts Center (2023-26). Quintana has taught and lectured at numerous institutions, including UCLA, SFAI, CSU Monterey Bay, UC Santa Cruz, Hammer Museum, and California African American Museum. Quintana lives, works, and teaches in Los Angeles, CA.