Leshy 3, from Natural Drag Series, pastel on black paper, 32 x 49 inches, 2015
by Malena Amaranta
Tall, dark, and handsome … that’s Zachari Logan! The soft-spoken Canadian artist looks like a Greek sculpture from the Met, as is apparent in his nude self-portraits. Hailing from Saskatoon, Canada, Logan has had his work exhibited internationally and has attended a number of well-known residencies in Europe and North America. At age 36, he’s still young, but unlike some other artists of his generation and professional stage, his humbleness, authenticity, and warmth is endearing and somewhat of a surprise (he’s also deep!). He displays none of the pretentiousness that, at times, is associated with the contemporary art world. Logan is known for his fastidious drawings, especially the large-scale pastel depictions of nature combined with the human form, the surreal, and the metaphysical.
Woodsman, from Natural Drag Series, pastel on black paper, 32 x 80 inches, 2016I met him during my brief time at the International Studio and Curatorial Program last year. I would often hear him playing Joni Mitchell loudly in his studio while he worked. Eventually, I found the courage to knock on his door, and I discovered an artist studio that nearly felt as if it were another world, a colorful and mystic world, removed from the isolated industrial area in which we were located, nowhere near nature or even a coffee shop. We bonded over our disdain of Jeff Koons, appreciation of Warhol, and love of music.
Currently he has an exhibit, along with Christopher Russel, called “Hypernatural” at the Julie Saul Gallery, which opened June 16 and runs through August 12. There’s truly no other word to describe the work. I had the pleasure of hanging out with Logan on his last afternoon in New York, walking around his exhibit and popping into neighboring galleries. We discussed his work, influences, music, movies, the time he met Joni Mitchell, and had a good laugh when we accidently walked in on some folks having an afternoon delight in another gallery (that shall not be named).
Wild Man 6, blue pencil on mylar, 14 x 19 inches 2015
Below is the audio interview that took place June 23, 2016.
https://soundcloud.com/malena-amaranta/hypernatural-zachari-logan-interview
