Student Spotlight: Jiovanny Soto

Jiovanny Soto painting in his studio at Sonoma State University. (Source: Jiovanny Soto)

From his bedroom, Artist Jiovanny Soto interviews virtually with me from his hometown in Rohnert Park. Jiovanny is a sixth-year BFA Painting major, as he shares his evolving trajectory as a student and artist at Sonoma State University. 

The first two years at SSU saw Soto as a nursing major, of which his family approved. But, he knew that was not the path he wanted to take. Someone asked him, “What do you want to do?” His response, bluntly:  “I want to f***ing make art!”  

“I think it's more of what I wanted for myself, rather than what my family desired for my career,” he said. Though it was a decision that he did not take lightly, Soto nevertheless knew a career as an artist would be fruitful with his determination to become one. 

During the Visiting Artists program, Soto felt inspired after having a one-on-one conversation with renowned graffiti artist Barry McGee. 

“(McGee) actually getting to know who I was and learning about my art led me to take on risks as an artist,” said Soto.

“In Between Moves”, Jiovanny Soto, 2020, 72”x96”, Rohnert Park, Calif

Oil on panel

As he would spend everyday in the art studio, Soto said, “I would be in the studio seven days a week from four to sixteen hours a day.” He shared one of his oil-on-panel paintings created last year, titled, “In Between Moves.” It impressively measures 6 feet by 8 feet; the once white panel is masterfully covered in bright and vibrant neon colors, a style defined as a psychedelic aspect. An ambitious artwork that required more than 150 hours of work within 2 weeks, the piece heightened his artistic skills. 

The time spent creating artwork was an escape from this reality and the art has matured into a way to express Soto’s perspective on reality as a whole. 

Mentioning his first time earning recognition at “Juried Student Exhibition, 2019” at the Sonoma State Art Gallery, he shared his thoughts on what it meant to him: “I've used art as a way to escape my problems, as a kid I witnessed drugs and gang violence,” he said, continuing to speak from the experience of being exposed to street gangs: “I live through that and evaded becoming another statistic--I'm becoming someone,” said Soto.

Soto has had a strong involvement in helping the Latino community. 

He painted a cinderblock at the Cali Calmecac Language Academy in Windsor. Thereafter, it was tagged “Build the wall higher,” two weeks before the Trump presidential election in the fall of 2016. 

“I bring out the issues I’ve observed to the audience; these events are happening,” he said. 

Altogether, art has become a way of documenting his life as a minority and a low-income Latino, marking a new path in the Fine Arts realm. 

This semester, Soto had chosen works for the “Juried Student Exhibition, 2020” and the “No-Show” exhibition, though both were canceled due to the mandated quarantine.

“I was upset, but at the same time I am used to adapting, so my focus was on what to do next,” said Soto. After researching, he found inspiration by other artists who practice art with unusual mediums, like food and tobacco. “We are physically isolated and are limited to the materials that we have around us; I made a drawing out of weed,” he said. Suffering from arthritis, Soto assists his ailing mother with medicinal marijuana remedies to help ease her pain and increase her mobility. 

“En Cuarentena”, Jiovanny Soto, 2020, 22”x30”, Rohnert Park, Calif.

Marijuana on paper

With limited use of materials and reduced space, Soto was bound to change his artistic process. “It's forcing me to try something completely out of the ordinary,” he expressed. In his experimentation process, he made a new medium by extracting pigment from a marijuana leaf by rubbing it on paper. The original work on paper is titled “En Cuarentena,” which translates to “in quarantine,”  measuring 22 inches by 30 inches. 

Soto’s new artwork has rippled into different reactions and interests to learn more about the story behind it. He plans to evolve the unique art practice into his future work, saying, “I found a new way to incorporate something that's important to me.”

Upon graduating this May, Soto is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts at San Francisco State University in the fall. Thereafter, he plans to exhibit his work in galleries and become an artist in residence. 

Students, faculty and readers alike can learn more about Jiovanny Soto’s work at