Meet Local Artist Everette Solomon

The Beauty of Being

To Everette Solomon, art is simultaneously indefinable yet undeniable. You can’t pinpoint the moment an action becomes an aesthetic, it just does… and then it just is.    That is art. You are art.

Nobody embodies this everyday/extraordinary dichotomy more fully than Everette Solomon, who often goes by the handle @Jevpic or his latest art piece @TheFaultLineMeditation, which is on display between The Palm Springs Art Museum & The Rowan Hotel.

Connection with Coachella Music Festival

Everette Solomon is a thrillingly accomplished visual stylist that credits his first taste of desert inspiration to a popular music festival of which you may be familiar.

“Coachella taught me about the next level of public art, where the experience is the art.  I realized people weren’t just coming for the music, they were coming to be apart of the vibe.  So I took that philosophy and practiced it with the parties I throw, the photography I produce and the art direction I give.”

“I’ve gone to almost, I know it’s goofy, but 30 Coachellas.  I count both weekends because each is it’s own experience. Coachella has been a instrumental education, just like the ones I got at FIDM & Art Center College of Design.”

When describing Everette, the word involved is an understatement. From the moment he rode into the desert in 2007, he has engaged with local culture intensely and meaningfully.

Modernism Week

“I’ve been photographing Modernism Week for nine years and I’ve gone to every Desert X… I’ve donated my paintings to charities like The Steve Chase Awards for 7 years and I skateboard around downtown everyday having meaningful conversations with complete strangers.  I want to connect to a large audience and I will use every means possible. I’m not a photographer, I’m not a sculptor, I’m not a land artist, I’m not a painter, I’m not a poet, I’m not a writer, I’m a performance. I’ve survived and thrived through so many things that now I know I have purpose and once you have purpose, it can’t be taken away.”

Fault Line Meditation

“I’ve been working on finding a home for the Fault Line Meditation close to five years and with the help of the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission, the city said yes,” recounts Everette Solomon. “I got the go ahead on March 10th and a few days later, the shut down of America happened, the lockdown.”

But the show had to go on, and Everette Solomon appealed to city representatives to continue with his vision. “I don’t need the bulldozers, I don’t need the crew, I’ll build it with my own two hands,” he beseeched them. “I went down there and I started playing in the dirt until if finally appeared.”

The Fault Line Meditation is a contemplation of renewal, connoted by gravesites and signs reading not mine and not yours. The land glows from within, angry at the human indiscretions that have divided it more than any tectonic activity ever could. It is truly one of the only bright spots to emerge from the devastation of the pandemic.

Downtown Bench Project

Despite his litany of humility, Jevpic has left his mark on all of the aforementioned disciplines. He is one of the brilliant collaborators responsible for the downtown bench project and his latest endeavor brings installation art to provocative new levels.

While the earth stood still, Jevpic’s personal life was rocked by grief. He harnesses tears as he whispers, “I’ve just learned to cry. My mom died of COVID as soon as the piece was finished.” Fresh tragedy washes through Jevpic’s voice as he speaks, but he soon pivots to the core reason why he creates.

“We have this responsibility because of what our ancestors went through to get us here. I get to live in this great, big, beautiful town and everywhere I look it’s perfect. It’s perfect, there’s the mountains, there’s the architecture, there’s the history, there’s the Cahuilla nation, there’s the Cultural Center, there’s the Art Museum, world-class restaurants, an entire gay street, a little town of 60,000 people with its own gay street where the population is 58% gay.”

The power of positivity brings renewed purpose to Jevpic’s tone.

“I’m blessed, I’m healthy, I’m happy and I’m healing.  When you fall a lot and keep getting up, not only do you get resilient, you get wiser.”

Gratitude shimmers through the artist as he summons his concluding remarks. “My light gets to shine even more through this article, through your writing, so thank you, and thank you to Downtown Palm Springs, Grit Development, PS Public Arts Commission, Coachella, Desert X, and Modernism Week. The city nurtured me and helped create the artist I am today.”

Palm Springs thanks you right back. All photos courtesy JEVPIC