Regina artist Andrew Salgado's paintings on display in England

Regina artist Andrew Salgado is the youngest artist to have an exhibit at the Canadian High Commission in London, England.

He doesn't like to call it a retrospectiveas he is only 34 years old, but the art show features his work over his last 10 years as a professional artist a decade which has seen his rapid rise on the international art scene.

The show coincides with the release of his art book called Ten, meant to survey his work over the last decade from 2006 to 2016.

Salgado's work departures from typical portraitsand include many different elements to create a more abstract piece.

"I've never really been interested in straight-forward portraitures, so the works have kind of a balance a walkacross a tightrope between figuration and abstraction,"Salgado told CBC Radio's The Morning Edition.

A journey back in time...

For the art show, his paintings had to be shipped from all over the world to the Canada Gallery in London.

"You are seeing paintings that you haven't seen for awhile they had to borrow these paintings from collectors all over the world," said Salgado.

Salgado said in some cases, he hadn't laid eyes on some of the paintingsin 10 years.

"It was a little bit emotional, for me to say the least, but also interesting to see the progression and growth, as well as some of the constants that have stayed throughout my work."

Near the beginning of his decade-longjourney, Salgado was a victim of a hate crime for being a gay man. Over time, that experience became formative in his career.

One piece, BloodyFaggot, wascompleted after the assault in 2008. He approached the piece again in 2011.

Salgado was adamant that this piece be included in the show.

"I just think it sort of shows a really dark moment in my life, but it also shows a place that I have rebounded from," said Salgado.

For Salgado, creating art is a therapeutic process.

"After you get out of that mud trap, if you will, the work started becoming more positive, more optimistic [and] spiritual."

Salgado said the hate crime experience was instrumental and pivotal in his career because it gave him a sense of purpose. Since then, he has always wanted his art to have a message.

Looking back at his art, Salgado sees a snapshot into 10 years of growth as a person and as an artist.

"Growth is a big thing for me, and I hope that intwo, three, four or five years I look back at the work I'm doing now and say, 'Wow, I've really progressed and evolved a lot.'"