PREVIEW & INTERVIEW: Opening Reception for "The Pain Isn't Over" a Solo Art Exhibition by Leafar Seyer at These Days Gallery

PREVIEW & INTERVIEW: Opening Reception for “The Pain Isn’t Over” a Solo Art Exhibition by Leafar Seyer at These Days Gallery – February 24th

Posted by Lee Joseph

Leafar Seyer, vocalist for the electronic “Cholo Goth” duo Prayers, will present a comprehensive look at his art, for his debut solo Los Angeles solo show “The Pain Isn’t Over” at These Days gallery which opens on February 24th from 7-10PM and remains on exhibition through April 8th, 2018.

Leafar Seyer was born Rafael Reyes in Cotija, Michoacan. He came to San Diego as a young child and at one time became a member of the Sherman Grant Hill Park 27 gang in order to protect his family. As a musician, Seyer created the Cholo Goth genera; with lyrics that explore life as a gang member over throbbing, industrial-like beats and rich swirling new-wave inspired synths.

After graduating high-school, Reyes opened San Diego’s first vegan/vegetarian Mexican restaurant, Pokéz Mexican Restaurant, with his father. His younger brother now runs the restaurant.

Seyer’s paintings and sculptures reflect his existence as an indigenous person treated as an immigrant in the land of his ancestors, being a Goth in a street gang and being an outsider in the Goth world, mixed with occult-inspired imagery. In his youth, Seyer created graffiti murals throughout San Diego and documented these works and the works of other SD graffiti artists during the late 1990s-early 2000s, in his book “Living Dangerously” which was considered such an important document that it was added to the Cornell University Library’s Architecture and Planning Special Collections.

Seyer was first introduced to the Los Angeles art community as part of the “Dark Progressivism: Metropolis Rising” group exhibition presented by Cartwheel Art at the LA Art Show in 2015, and a group show at Coagula Curatorial gallery in Chinatown.

Featuring ten new works by Seyer, as well as previous works from private collectors, “The Pain Isn’t Over” gives patrons an in-depth look at Seyer’s ongoing process. These Days gallery, located in Downtown Los Angeles, will feature an installation which will put the viewer inside Seyer’s world and includes a streetscape which captures Seyer’s San Deigo area Sherman Heights neighborhood, and an altar erected to one of Seyer’s major influences, Rozz Williams of the band Chrisitan Death. This comprehensive exhibition will showcase paintings, sculptures, and limited edition prints. Books, exclusive merchandise including tee shirt collaborations with Kill Your God from New York and San Diego-based Dead View, limited edition jackets, and a small run hand cut 7″ record featuring Prayers and members of Christian Death will also be available.

How do you split your time between your musical and visual endeavors?

It’s a matter of fairness I have multiple personalities/ energies/spirits that live and thrive within me. My body, heart, and soul is their domain. To keep order and peace between them I have to acknowledge their needs. If one of my sides feels neglected it’ll fight the others causing madness in my head. Today the painter in me wants to express itself it wants to be heard. As their custodian, I must provide the time and attention my personalities/ energies/spirits need to experience their own personal experiences.

What materials/mediums do you work with?

I didn’t go to art school, therefore, my technique/style is unorthodox. I started off by using whatever was accessible, free or discarded. Leftover house paint, religious pamphlets, glitter, mannequins just about anything that I could salvage from the streets or the mall dumpsters.

What inspires you to create a painting or sculpture versus writing a song? Are there things that you feel you can express better via visual art than a musical composition?

I create for one reason and that’s so I can have a better understanding of who I am. I’m interacting with my subconscious through the process. I don’t make music or paint for anyone but for myself. Self-exploration, self-awareness and self- liberation is why I create.

Which street and fine artists do you resonate with?