Visual Mechanics, Somos Gallery, Salinas, CA 10/7/11

I decided to make the trip down to Salinas to support our friends from Deadend Magazine and checkout this art show at this neat Art Gallery in Downtown Salinas, Ca. I've never really spent much time in Salinas, and I really had no idea what to expect. I'm also not much for art shows, I never really know what to do, so it was all going to be a surprise. I picked up my friends Stoney and Brooke on the way down, and we headed out through some of the most ridiculous traffic I've ever dealt with on the way there.

When we pulled on to Main St, we instantly knew that we were in the right place, the street was packed with hot rods, customs, and lowriders with a turnout and quality that should make any event planner proud. I'm not sure if all of the cars there were from Salinas (in fact I know they weren't, John Parker and Art Rivas made the drive all the way up from around Ventura!), but I do know that people from Salinas build a car with a ton of heart and passion, and it shows. It was a really impressive thing to see, and that was just outside the Somos Gallery!

Inside the gallery was a clean and glowing art gallery packed with incredible photography, great paintings, and cool sculpture. The gallery itself was pretty rad, it had a ton of cool books and those neat vinyl toys you always see in Juxtapose and Hi Fructose. If every gallery had lowrider bikes in the window the world would be a better place. If you're ever out in Salinas, put the Somos Gallery on your absolute must-see list, the Steinbeck Museum can wait.

I'm not too sure what's acceptable when it comes to taking pictures in an art gallery, so I didn't take many pics of the works themselves, so if you can't make it, be sure you check out the artist's online or elsewhere, these guys are some of the best:

Rod Powell
Tim Conder
Deacon
Cole Foster
El Angel
Eric Tapley
Andy Southard Jr.
Alan Signs
April May
Flip
Juan Espinoza Jr.
Jesus Espinoza
Joshua De Leon
Steve Cabellero
Eddie Padilla

Sorry if I left anyone out! Thanks especially to Juan and Jesus at Deadend Magazine and the SOMOS Media & Gallery for making this happen, I had a great time. Enjoy:



















I need to get me a chrome cowboy hat:



What it's all about. Cool cars, great art, and great people. Do yourself a favor and get out and support your local art scene.