Artist

Trevor Southey

TREVOR SOUTHEY (1940–2015) was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1940. He joined the Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa and, in 1967, emigrated to the United States to study at Brigham Young University, where he remained as a professor of art until 1977. Until his death in 2015, Southey was a popular painter and sculptor known for his exacting depictions of the human form.

His family dating back several generations in southern Africa, Trevor Southey (b. 1940) came to the United States from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as a convert to Mormonism in 1965. He received his education in England, South Africa, and the United States where he progressed from student to faculty at Brigham Young University through 1977. Having moved to San Francisco in 1985, he now maintains homes and studios in both the Bay Area and Salt Lake City. He is the devoted father of four children. Southey’s creative direction was set in the innocence of a great distance from the centers of western art. Yet in Mormonism, the dominant culture of his adopted homeland, he found a rich source for expression. His intuitive romantic idealism found focus in themes as varied as eternal family connections, human interaction, and explorations of the plan of salvation. Although his relationship with the LDS church has changed, his work remains spiritual in nature, finding a wider and deeper expression in the broader human experience. While relishing many aspects of the modern art world, which often broaden his visual language, Southey finds his own artistic inspiration in the human body as expressed in works of the past, especially the high F.enaissance. The nude remains the constant core of his work, with spiritual or sometimes psychological musings and sensual undertones, usually inadvertent, evolving in the process.

 

The Plan

Oil

Ordination

Oil.

Untitled

Illustration

Softening

22″x30″ etching, 198

Prodigal

93.6″ x 117″ triptych, oil on panel, 1974

“The painting on the cover of this issue is called ‘Prodigal’ and was conceived around Jesus’ parable of reconciliation and unconditional love. It deals with much more than the simple ele￾ments of a wayward son returning to his father. In addition to the idea of reconciliation to an earthly father and thus a heavenly father, this painting also deals with the reconciliation of a lost human to himself. “Bludgeoned by the beliefs of those who seem absolute in their certainty of right, religious and otherwise, humans are, I believe, first lost to themselves before they become wayward in the eyes of their fellows. There is often a terrible darkness within the human soul as we turn inward from the pain of pressure from the enlight￾ened and all-knowing, not to mention simply cruel. And so, with￾in this work and much of my work, there is the plumbing of the darkness within to find the real light of self. And then, gradually perhaps, there is a forgiving of those who have done the damage. Often they are not wanton in their brutality. Even so, they must be included in the reconciliation if ultimate inner union and true communion with one’s fellows are to occur. “The sensuality of this work may prove offensive to some (and indeed the painting was gently declined by the clients), but I believe I was both innocent to its deeper content at the time and naive as to its potential impact on others. After all, my use of the nude comes from a timeless tradition in art. “And perhaps I was really blind to its autobiographical impli￾cations. Now I see the beaten, turned away figure as being bruised as I was. I shared personally the need of the central figures for the love and acceptance of a father or others, but also the need of each person to love him- or herself. And then finally, with a cer￾tain peace within ourselves, we turn, the fullness of the inner light aglow and sensually whole, to complete our spiritual quest.” – Trevor Southey

Prodigal

93.6″ x 117″ triptych, oil on panel, 1974

“The painting on the cover of this issue is called ‘Prodigal’ and was conceived around Jesus’ parable of reconciliation and unconditional love. It deals with much more than the simple ele￾ments of a wayward son returning to his father. In addition to the idea of reconciliation to an earthly father and thus a heavenly father, this painting also deals with the reconciliation of a lost human to himself. “Bludgeoned by the beliefs of those who seem absolute in their certainty of right, religious and otherwise, humans are, I believe, first lost to themselves before they become wayward in the eyes of their fellows. There is often a terrible darkness within the human soul as we turn inward from the pain of pressure from the enlight￾ened and all-knowing, not to mention simply cruel. And so, with￾in this work and much of my work, there is the plumbing of the darkness within to find the real light of self. And then, gradually perhaps, there is a forgiving of those who have done the damage. Often they are not wanton in their brutality. Even so, they must be included in the reconciliation if ultimate inner union and true communion with one’s fellows are to occur. “The sensuality of this work may prove offensive to some (and indeed the painting was gently declined by the clients), but I believe I was both innocent to its deeper content at the time and naive as to its potential impact on others. After all, my use of the nude comes from a timeless tradition in art. “And perhaps I was really blind to its autobiographical impli￾cations. Now I see the beaten, turned away figure as being bruised as I was. I shared personally the need of the central figures for the love and acceptance of a father or others, but also the need of each person to love him- or herself. And then finally, with a cer￾tain peace within ourselves, we turn, the fullness of the inner light aglow and sensually whole, to complete our spiritual quest.” – Trevor Southey

Prodigal

93.6″ x 117″ triptych, oil on panel, 1974

“The painting on the cover of this issue is called ‘Prodigal’ and was conceived around Jesus’ parable of reconciliation and unconditional love. It deals with much more than the simple ele￾ments of a wayward son returning to his father. In addition to the idea of reconciliation to an earthly father and thus a heavenly father, this painting also deals with the reconciliation of a lost human to himself. “Bludgeoned by the beliefs of those who seem absolute in their certainty of right, religious and otherwise, humans are, I believe, first lost to themselves before they become wayward in the eyes of their fellows. There is often a terrible darkness within the human soul as we turn inward from the pain of pressure from the enlight￾ened and all-knowing, not to mention simply cruel. And so, with￾in this work and much of my work, there is the plumbing of the darkness within to find the real light of self. And then, gradually perhaps, there is a forgiving of those who have done the damage. Often they are not wanton in their brutality. Even so, they must be included in the reconciliation if ultimate inner union and true communion with one’s fellows are to occur. “The sensuality of this work may prove offensive to some (and indeed the painting was gently declined by the clients), but I believe I was both innocent to its deeper content at the time and naive as to its potential impact on others. After all, my use of the nude comes from a timeless tradition in art. “And perhaps I was really blind to its autobiographical impli￾cations. Now I see the beaten, turned away figure as being bruised as I was. I shared personally the need of the central figures for the love and acceptance of a father or others, but also the need of each person to love him- or herself. And then finally, with a cer￾tain peace within ourselves, we turn, the fullness of the inner light aglow and sensually whole, to complete our spiritual quest.” – Trevor Southey

Awakening

8″ x 6″, etching, 1988

Embryo II

8″ x 6″, etching, 1991

Fatherhood I

18″ x 18″, etching, 1981

At Dawn

24″ x 36″, oil on canvas, 1987

Chrysalis

4′ x 10′, oil on panel, 1982

Shadow

20″ x 30″, etching, 1988

Ode to Ideology

4′ x 6″, oil on panel, 1987

Brute

20″ x 20″, oil on canvas, 1991

Heart Cry

16″ x 24″, etching, 1985

Stewardship/Breadmaker

intaglio print, 18”x24”