Zac Chambers

Florida / Brooklyn, New York

Zac Chambers pays attention to the people keeping a place running. Workers, markets, passing gestures. Raised in Florida and shaped by time in Mexico City and Brooklyn, he came to painting through photography. The pictures he takes and collects keep resurfacing, alongside an interest in Mexican muralists and the dignity they gave ordinary lives.

At SOMOS, he put thirteen paintings, a painted surfboard and an exhibition into two weeks. First came walking, meeting people and getting a feel for the town. Then the studio. As the winner of our Unknown Roads residency with Madre Mezcal, Zac arrived with enough curiosity to let Santa Teresa get under his skin. It made it into the work.