Simón lives in a small community near the beach, 15 km. from the town of La Libertad in El Salvador and very close to all the surfing spots in the area. In his studio he does research, drawings and design for the large scale sculptures he builds, which are based on historical spacecrafts and capsules from the Cold War, but built using materials and methods of construction inspired in the informal architecture of the poor homes and constructions found in his native country. The sculptures themselves, because of their size, are usually built on site at the galleries that represent him in Vienna, Medellín and Guatemala and museums around the world, therefore his studio is mainly a research, laboratory and testing site. He showed us some of his past and upcoming projects, such as a huge space station based on the Soviet MIR, which will be built next April at a secret undisclosed site.
BIO
Simón Vega creates drawings, sculptural installations and happenings inspired in local markets, self-made-architecture and vendor carts found in Central America. These works parody Cold War space capsules, Mayan pyramids, Modernism’s iconic buildings and contemporary surveillance systems, creating a humorous fusion between first and third worlds. He has exhibited his work extensively in Europe, the United States, Central and South America. He has algo been a teacher for over ten years at three local universities, done numerous workshops, organized and curated exhibitions, co-edited the book Y.ES Collecting Contemporary El Salvador and is a member of the board at Y.ES Contemporary. He is founder and co-director of Estación Arte y Surf residency and cultural program. He lives in La Libertad, El Salvador.
www.simon-vega.blogspot.com and www.ciudades-perdidas.blogspot.com
