These Colors Taste Like Music
Robert Santoré is an American artist known for his colorful emotional paintings that blend elements of both the figurative and abstract.
Robert Santoré Hawaii. Photography Candice Solomon
Born in Houston, Texas, Robert is a 5th generation Texan. Santoré grew up in the UK and later in Huntington, Newport and Laguna Beaches in Souther California. From an early age embraced surfing and the “So Cal beach lifestyle.“
The oldest child in a creative family enabled his talent to be recognized early where he spent most of his life in the art world.
Santoré attended Parson’s School of Design in New York City and went on to study at the The Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles where he honed his skills as a painter.
He began exhibiting his work in the 1980s and became well-known for his distinctive approach and vibrant color choices.
Santoré’s paintings often feature abstracted figures, words and phases, urban landscapes, and methodological elements that are rendered in a bold and expressive manner evoking a sense of
energy and movement. He is characterized by his use of vibrant colors and strong, gestural brushstrokes.
He was heavily influenced by the Abstract Expressionist & POP ART movement of the 1950s and 60s, which emphasized the emotional and physical act of painting and ironic pop-art commentary.
Santoré’s art career has been marked by a constant evolution, with his work reflecting his exploration of new techniques and styles. He has experimented with various mediums, such as oil paint, encaustic, acrylics, gouache, watercolors, military and industrial enamels, and has depicted a diverse range of subjects, including the human figure, urban landscapes, and the ocean.
He frequently employs a technique called “Alla Prima,” which involves applying wet paint to wet paint in order to create a sense of immediacy and energy in the final work.
“I want my paintings to stand alone, to speak for themselves. am only the conduit.” He believes that art is a universal language which communicate across cultures and languages.
In addition to painting, Santoré is also a prolific printmaker, creating etchings, lithographs, and other editions continuing to today.
His works have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the United States and around the world, and is held in many private and public collections.
He is currently working in his Soho studio focusing on his vibrant and expressive art. His work continues to inspire and captivate viewers as a talented, innovative artist who pushes the boundaries of contemporary painting.
His works continue to attract and move viewers with their raw emotional power and his dynamic visual language.
“Robert Santoré: A Manhattan Art Odyssey”
MSaF Grant awardee producing a 12 part documentary “ROBERT SANTORÉ: A Manhattan Art Odyssey.”
Episode 1 premiering on 04/24/24 at 9:30PM ET on YouTube, Tubi, PlutoTV and X. Tubi: “Explore the vibrant world of contemporary art with Robert Santoré in “My Manhattan Art Odyssey.” As a recipient of the MSaF Foundation grant, this Soho-based artist takes you on an unscripted journey, delving into the challenges, successes, and failures of the highly competitive Manhattan art scene. Join Robert in his studio, gain insights into his thoughts on painting and contemporary art, and venture into off-the-grid art spots, blue-chip galleries, and exclusive museum venues. Meet collectors, curators, and the eclectic characters shaping the dynamic landscape of Manhattan’s art scene.”
(Please note, the premiere has been delayed due to a pesky music licensing issue which has been resolved and pushed the release back until June 2024.)
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Santoré’s paintings often feature abstracted figures, words and phases, urban landscapes, and other elements that are rendered in a bold and expressive manner evoking a sense of energy and movement. He is characterized by his use of vibrant colors and strong, gestural brushstrokes. He was heavily influenced by the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1950s and 60s, which emphasized the emotional and physical act of painting and ironic pop-art commentary.
Santoré attended Parson’s School of Design in New York City and went on to study at the The Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, where he honed his skills as a painter.
He began exhibiting his work in the 1980s and quickly gained recognition for his unique style and bold use of color.
Throughout his career, Santoré’s work evolved and changed, reflecting his ongoing exploration of new techniques and styles. He experimented with different mediums, including oil paint, encaustic, acrylics, and watercolors, and his subjects ranged from the human figure to urban landscapes and still life.
He frequently employed a technique called “alla prima,” which involves applying wet paint to wet paint in order to create a sense of immediacy and energy in the final work.
Despite his success as an artist, Santoré is known for his humility and dedication to his craft. He once said, “I want my paintings to stand alone, to speak for themselves. I am only the conduit.” He believed that art was a universal language that could communicate across cultures and languages.
In addition to painting, Santoré was also a prolific printmaker, creating etchings, lithographs, and other prints continuing to today. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the United States and around the world, and is held in many private and public collections.
Santoré primarily works in his Soho studio focusing on his vibrant and expressive art. His work continues to inspire and captivate viewers as a talented and innovative artist who pushes the boundaries of contemporary painting. His works continue to inspire and move viewers with their raw emotional power and dynamic visual language. His contributions to the art world will be remembered for years to come, and he remains a beloved figure among artists and art enthusiasts alike.
Santoré is best known for his series of large format, word paintings, abstract figures, heavily influence as a boomer generation painter, the colors, music, fashion and advertising of the 1960s & 70s he was exposed to as a child. His “neo-postwar abstract expressionist paintings”, a practice he began in 1986. He started introducing Words and numbers into his early and notable abstract paintings, such as “Famous” (1986), “Baby Linen” (1987) “Bull Market” (1988) and “JunkBond” (1989) thus reinstating content. His use of defined or extant symbols differentiated his paintings from the gestural abstraction of the Abstract Expressionists, (however he including this method of painting) whose paintings were often understood as expressive of the individual personality or psychology of the artist. Because Santoré imported well-known motifs into the fine arts, his paintings can be read as both representational (a factories, figures, aircraft) and as abstract patterns. Curators and collector’s characterize his choice of subjects as freeing him from decisions about composition. Santoré has remarked: “What’s interesting to me is developing an interconnected visual language and exploring common element across various narratives and composition . It’s not all mine,” or, that the visual language I repete are “s the mind already knows and challenges the viewer to relearn what they recognize.”
He also often used painted reliefs in his paintings which challenge typical conceptions of paintings as two-dimensional. Santoré often used oil, oil stick, encaustic and military and industrial enamel’s as a painting method to create bumpy, textured surfaces unusual in painting.
Santoré also produces intaglio & giclée prints, sculptures and lithographs. Since 1984 Santoré has worked in a variety of printmaking techniques to investigate and develop existing compositions. Initially, lithography suited Santoré and enabled him to create print versions of the visual language that filled his paintings.
Robert is 5th generation Texan having spent his early years in the United Kingdom as an “air force brat”, and his formative years growing up in Southern California beach towns; Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, California. He was accepted into the prestigious UCLA Film School but chose instead to focus on contemporary art and attended Parsons School of Design in New York as well as the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles, CA and later attended the University Of California at Irvine.
Robert began creating large scale works of art & editions from his downtown Los Angeles loft before leaving school. His first solo painting exhibition was held at the Jerry Solomon Gallery in Los Angeles, CA in November 1986 and sold out. He has had solo exhibitions sponsored by the City Of Los Angeles, Security Pacific Bank/The Los Angles Museum of Contemporary Art, The Los Angeles Municipal Art Collection, The Jerry Solomon Gallery in Los Angles, The Brenden Walter’s Gallery in Santa Monica California and The Portfolio Gallery of Fine Art in Beverly Hills, California and has participated in many group shows & exhibitions both in the United States and internationally. Robert is in the permanent collections of The Newport Harbor Art Museum, The Laguna Beach Museum of Contemporary Art and the San Jose Museum of Art and is in many private and corporate collections.
Robert, an avid surfer to this day, also embraced competitive alpine skiing as a teen and was selected by the United States, Jr. National Alpine Ski Team (US Ski Team B Team). He continues to enjoy travel to both the South Pacific and Europe in particular, where he is able to satisfy his love of both sports, new experiences and continued exposure to classical and contemporary art, sculpture and architecture.
After many happy years with his family in the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts, he returned to Manhattan where he concluded a career as an award winning creative director and user experience strategist and painter. In 2018 Robert returned to Texas to the property held by his family since 1818 and continues painting in earnest in the re-launch of his successful fine art career.
Robert has had the great fortune of meeting many other celebrated artists starting with Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat while still a student at Parsons. Others artists he has admired and met are Jim Dine, Ed Ruscha, Ed Moses, Robert Longo, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell, Craig Kauffman, Chuck Close, Julian Schnabel, Eric Fischl et al.
Robert is currently working in oils, watercolor and gauche, egg tempura, and producing sculptures in steel and wood. Santore is an extremely versatile artist & craftsman who brings his myriad of experiences and his unique vision of life and beauty to his remarkable works of art
Santore traveled extensively through Europe and the South Pacific his current work focusing on the juxtaposition of experience, events and memories from his travels.
SHOWS & COLLECTIONS
EDUCATION
The University Of California at Irvine Irvine, California
The Otis Art Institute Of Parsons School Of Design Los Angeles, California
Parsons School Of Design New York, New York
Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, California
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
The Newport Harbor Art Museum Newport Beach, California
The San Jose Museum Of Art San Jose, California
The Laguna Beach Museum Of Art Laguna Beach, California
The City Of Los Angeles Municipal Art Collection Los Angeles, California
The Barnsdale Art Collection Los Angeles, California
GALLERY SHOWS/GROUP SHOWS 2024
Q3 2024 : “Robert Santoré Veintiséis Habitaciones Donde Estos Colores Saben a Música” (“Twenty-six Rooms Where These Colors Taste Like Music”)
Mexico City, Mexico
June 25, 2024: “ROBERT SANTORÉ: A MANHATTAN ART ODYSSEY"
Episode 1 of 12 will premier 06/25/2024 at 9:30PM ET on YouTube, Tubi, PlutoTV, and X (Please note, the premiere has been delayed due to a pesky music licensing issue which has been resolved and pushed the release back until June 2024.)
May 20, 2024: “Morrison Gallery Presents” The Morrison Gallery,
The Morrison Gallery, Kent Connecticut
May 10, 2024: “Rodeo & Rebels” Art Gotham,
Art Gotham, New York, New York.
Feb 2024: “Robert Santoré at Frederick Anderson”
Frederick Anderson, New York, NY (Ongoing)
GALLERY SHOWS/GROUP SHOWS 2023
Sep 12 to Sep 14 2023: “PBS Art Show" Pershing Square Building
Los Angeles, California
Sep 9 to Sep 24 2023: “Anything Goes" California Heritage Museum
Santa Monica, California
Sep 1 to Oct 1 2023 : “Timeless” Robert Santoré solo show
Firetti Contemporary, Dubai
May 6 to July 7 2023 : “ROOTS & REFLECTIONS A Journey Through Time & Nature” group show
Firetti Contemporary, Dubai
The Texas Contemporary Art Fair Houston, Texas
“Robert Santoré: The Rise & Controversy of Digital & Computer Generated Art” The Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California
“LAART Fair 89” The Brendan Walters Gallery, Santa Monica, California
“Robert Santoré Large Scale Paintings” The Brendan Walters Gallery, Santa Monica, California
“Robert Santoré Bull Market” RORK Gallery, Los Angeles, California
“LAART Fair 88” The Brendan Walters Gallery, Santa Monica, California
“Robert Santoré Bull Market & Baby Lenin” The Brendan Walters Gallery, Santa Monica, California
“Robert Santoré New & Abstract” Bairnsdale Art Park Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California
“Robert Santoré Works On Paper” The Brendan Walters Gallery, Santa Monica, California
“From Main To Santa Fe, Sixteen Artists Leading To The Millennium” The Security Pacific Art Gallery in Association with The Museum Of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Los Angeles, California
“New Paintings & Mono Prints” The Portfolio, Beverly Hills, California
“Known And Soon To Be Known” The Diane Nelson Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
“LAART Fair 87” The Brendan Walters Gallery, Santa Monica, California
“Robert Santoré” The City Of Los Angeles, Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California
“Robert Santoré: Baby Lenin, FAMOUS, Marital Apocalypse” The Portfolio, Beverly Hills, California
“West Meets East. US Artists in Japan” The Tokyo Municipal Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“Selections From The Permanent Collection” Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery – Bairnsdale Art Park
“Serial Images” The Jerry Solomon Gallery, Santa Monica, California
“Robert Santoré” The Portfolio, Beverly Hills, California
NOTABLE COLLECTIONS / CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
(In alphabetical order)
20th Century Fox Burbank, California
20th Century Fox Television Los Angeles, California
AFSA Corporation Long Beach, California
Air Cal Burbank, California
Carnation Corporation Los Angeles, California
CEMEX Mexico City, Mexico
CBS Television Los Angeles, California
Chase Manhattan Bank New York, New York
Citizens Bank Tustin, California
Columbia Pictures Burbank, California
Delanardo Associates New York, New York
Elizabeth Lyon Shaw, Deer Valley, Utah
First Interstate Bank, Corporate Collection San Francisco, California
Hyundai Motors Of America Fountain Valley, California
IJNT (Intetjet.net) Houston, Texas
JL Cohen Family Trust & Foundation New York, New York
Latham & Watkins LLP Los Angeles, California
Latham & Watkins LLP Newport Beach, California
Latham & Watkins LLP New York, New York
Mary Scanlon Foundation New York, New York
MLTV (Micro~Lite Television) Salt Lake City, Utah
Morris Air Salt Lake City, Utah
Nestle Purina Corporation Burbank, California
Northrop Grumman Los Angeles, CA
Northrop Grumman Washington DC
Quiksilver USA Huntington Beach, California
R. Hellman Foundation Stockholm, Sweden
Ross-Sutton Gallery New York, New York
Security Pacific Bank Los Angeles, California
The California Pizza Kitchen Corp HQ Beverly Hills, California
The Disney Corporation Burbank, California
The Irvine Company Newport Beach, California
The Joseph A Wheelock Family Trust Boston, Massachusetts
The Kazarian Family Trust, Newport Beach, California
The Mendez Family Trust, Miami Florida, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Principal Financial Group Des Moines, IA
The Santa Fe Railroad Los Angeles, California
The Union Pacific Railroad Los Angeles, California
TRW Corporation Los Angeles, CA
TRW Corporation Washington DC
UBS New York, New York
Universal Broadband Networks (UBNETWORKS) Los Angeles, California
Universal Studios Burbank, California
USA Today Washington DC
Wells Fargo Bank Corporate Collection San Francisco, California
IMAGES: (1) Robert Santoré Tavarua, Fiji (2) Robert Santoré Montana (3) Robert Santoré Zermatt Switzerland (4) Robert Santoré Manhattan Studio (5) Robert Santoré Manhattan Studio 1984 (6) Robert Longo & Robert Santoré Manhattan, New York, 2019 (7) Arlene Shechet & Robert Santoré PACE New York 2012 (8) Robert Santoré in the Texas studio 2019 (9) Robert Santoré in the Texas studio 2021 (10) Bisa Butler & Robert Santoré New York, New York 2020 (11) Robert Santoré installing “What Tommy Saw” in Manhattan, New York 2021 (12) Robert Santoré in the Texas studio 2018 (13/14) Robert Santoré at the Dia Beacon in Beacon, New York 2017 – Photo Kira Chassman (14) Robert Santoré in the Texas foundry 2018
What Sparked it All?
Japer Johns
"Three Flags"
Painted in 1958 at the age of 28
The Whitney Museum Of American Art
Robert Santoré
"Red"
Painted in 1967 at the age of 6
Happly Hanging in the Soho Loft
My family moved from the United Kingdom to Southern California. My father had been stationed at Bentwaters Air Force base in Great Brintain and was transferred to March Air Force base in Southern California.
We fully embraced the Southern California lifestyle and settled in Huntington Beach in 1967. Our family enjoyed all the typical activities of the time, from visiting Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios and Marine Land, to camping in Joshua Tree National park and the gold rush country in the High Sierra Mountains. We often had late- night beach bonfires with music playing in the background, providing the soundtrack to our lives.
I began surfing at the age of 7 and started skateboarding the following year. The open culture of Southern California, with its dynamic and colorful environment, provided me with a free-range childhood that was a stark contrast to the structured and scheduled life I had previously experienced as a military (air force brat) child.
A very early memory that sticks out is when my mother took me to the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. As we drove she told me the two of us were “going to see some very special things she wanted to show me and meet some cool people.”
We saw works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Wallace Berman, Billy Al Bengston, Ed Moses, Robert Irwin, John Mason, Kenneth Price, Llyn Foulkes (I later studied under Llyn at Otis/Parson), Larry Bell (and Larry went to my 1st solo show at the Jerry Solomon Gallery), Ed Ruscha and others.
On the way home I asked if we could stop and buy some art supplies. The next day we did:
“We saw works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Wallace Berman, Billy Al Bengston, Ed Moses, Robert Irwin, John Mason , Kenneth Price, Llyn Foulkes, Larry Bell, Ed Ruscha.”
1 canvas
2 bushes
1 tube of Cobalt blue
1 tube of Prussian blue
1 tube of Mars black<
I still own the painting and it hangs today in the Soho loft.
The result was “RED”
11 x 14in (27.94 x 35.56cm) Oil on canvas
IMAGES : (1) Robert Santoré a MoMA (2) Detail of “You Shot Your Lady Down” in process at the Texas Studio (3) Sketches for You Shot Your Lady Down and Tallulah (4) Driving 150mph + back in the day Mammoth Lakes California (5) COVID lockdown day 42 “ (6) Detail “COVID CHAOS TWOxFour” (7) Detail of Christ “FAST FOOD” (8) Plans for shipping crate (9) Robert Santoré painting “COVID CHAOS TWOxFour” in the Texas studio
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TEXAS ART RANCH
Montgomery, Texas, 77363
MANHATTAN STUDIO
New York, NY 10002
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