Ongoing

Los Angeles County Hall of Records
320 W Temple St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

About the Project

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.

Commissioned by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and installed at the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning offices at the Los Angeles County Hall of Records in Downtown Los Angeles, the artwork is on permanent view. The offices located on the 13th floor are open to the public. Also on view on the same floor is a commission by Teresa Baker produced by LAND.

About the Artist

Felix Quintana (b. 1991, Lynwood, CA)  is a Salvadoran-American visual artist and educator. Quintana’s art practice spans photography, digital media, collage, and installation. Quintana received his MFA in Photography from San Jose State University and BA from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Solo exhibitions include Donde Nace El Agua at Wende Museum, Fantasma Paraiso presented by Los Angeles Nomadic Division, and Cruising Below Sunset at Residency Art.

Select group exhibitions include Vincent Price Art Museum, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Chinese Culture Center San Francisco, and Center for Photography Woodstock, among others. Awards include California Community Foundation Fellowship for Visual Arts, Lucas Artist Fellowship at Montalvo Art Center, Mohn LAND Grant by Los Angeles Nomadic Division, and LACE Lightning Fund Grant. His work is included in the public collections of Oakland Museum of California, Altamed Art Collection, and Los Angeles Civic Art Collection.

Quintana lives, works, and teaches in Los Angeles.