Johnny Salas Biography

	Influenced by the santos and the religious beliefs of his grandmother at a young age, native New Mexican Johnny Salas credits her for the art you see today. "I didn't know it was art back then," says Johnny. "My grandmother and I would find prints of santos and embellish them as a devotion for a favor from that saint. She would recite stories of the saints and the miracles they performed as we were, as it turns out, making art." Johnny and his grandmother would employ trinkets, old buttons, glitter, dried flowers - whatever was laying around the house unutilized.
	Though his grandmother has since passed on, Johnny keeps her memory alive with the shadow boxes that he calls "Santos de Mi Gente." "My boxes are as dazzling to look at as they are inspirational," says Johnny. "Spiritual candy for the eye." In recent years, his art has expanded beyond the single shadow box. Increasing in sophistication, these newer works reflect Old and New World influences from parts as diverse as Venice, Italy and Oaxaca, Mexico. Johnny's work has been shown in galleries and shops throughout the Southwest and has won numerous awards in the competitive shows he has entered such as Feria Artistica Albquerque Spanish Market, the Ahora Show, the Santo show in Old Town, and the New Mexico State Fair. His art has also been displayed at art shows as distant as Miami, Florida where it was also featured in el Herald newspaper, the Spanish edition of the Miami Herald. Johnny has a piece that was selected in 2002 for the permanent collection of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, where he often collaborates in various art shows. His art was also featured in the Albuquerque Journal in October of 2004. His art is collected by other well-known Hispanic artists such as Charlie Carrillo, Christopher Coppola, Maria Romero Cash, Jimmy Trujillo, Arturo Olivias, and the beguiling singer and actress, Lila Downs.

To contact me call: 505-247-4789 cell: 505-331-5590