Morrison Gallery
Dear William!
I am beyond excited at the opportunity to collaborate with you and the Morrison Gallery. Below are a handful of very large paintings which can arrive at your location in Kent on time for your scheduled soft opening in mid October.
Each painting listed below has the appropriate information needed for your catalog/listing as well as an approximate delivery window. A few of the paintings are located at my studio in Texas which we can ship to you. Paintings in my Manhattan studio, we can deliver in a rental truck or via my shipper located in Soho. I have noted the current location of each work so we can chat about logistic as well as a target date for it to arrive in Kent.
Pricing, I have listed the current “sold” prices, meaning work that is of the same scale as a basis. At this point, I am more interested in the work being seen and working with you an what you feel would be appropriate pricing. In Dubai, I have a show which is closing in mid October (over 50 paintings) which has done very well. Actually it exceeded all exceptions – so the pricing is based on private sales I have made as well as through Firetti Contemporary, Ross-Sutton Gallery and art consultants and such.
I am eager to find representation here in/on the east coast, but I understand that it has to be the right fit and eraned. I am more than happy to work my ass off for you and the gallery to make sure we have the best chance of success. Whatever it takes/whatever you need.
I would love the opportunity to assist in instillation and “anything that I can do to support your efforts, it’s my pleasure.”
Also, you might find this interesting in connecting the dots for my current work and where my love and need to make art started. “What Sparked It All.“
Please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime if you have any questions, recommendations and again anything that I can assist with.
Warmest regards with gratitude,
Rob
+1 (936)267-8783
Covid Chaos
Twenty-four months which globally impacted the lives of every person on the planet.
“It was an incredibly challenging and uncertain time. I felt a constant state of urgency through mandated isolation.
Ironically, alone months on end at the ranch was fruitful and healing.”
Robert Santoré introduced a selection of new works made since the onset of the global corona virus pandemic.
Using oil stick on cotton rag paper, the artist has here updated the visual language of his established “Tavarua Kava Jazz” series, in which deceptively crude archetypal figures express the fundamental joys, movement and simultaneously the tensions and traumas that course through contemporary life.
Santorés “Tavarua Kava Jazz” series has been characterized by figures rubbed into the pictorial surface in a kind of drawing through erasure, whereas his new COVID Chaos employ only the direct application of oil paint, oil stick over intense colour in-studio produced gouache on cotton rag mounted to Belgian linen.
The repeated motif in his new works suggest both the ongoing context of global instability and our new reality.
“Covid Chaos in an ongoing project. I have never thought these works as sketches for other works but as autonomous, complete and final.”
Robert Santoré joins a cadre of influential contemporary American artists whose work employs a wide range of media to explore themes of art history, individual and shared cultural identities, personal narratives, literature, philosophy, materiality, and critical history.
Manhattan
Delivery: October 1
$45,000 (TBD?)
Manhattan
Delivery: October 1
$45,000 (TBD?)
New Work: I Remember The Future, Yet I look Forward To The Past
Robert Santoré’s latest artistic endeavor, “I Remember The Future, Yet I Look Forward To The Past,” unveils a mesmerizing fusion of his recent series, Opera and Kava Dancers, while skillfully incorporating elements of surrealism and abstraction. Santoré’s masterful ability to seamlessly blend diverse artistic styles and concepts results in a body of work that challenges traditional perceptions of time, memory, and anticipation.
In this captivating series, Santoré intertwines the ethereal beauty of opera with the rhythmic energy of Kava Dancers, creating a visual symphony that resonates with the viewer’s senses. Through his vivid brushwork and vibrant color palette, he breathes life into each canvas, capturing fleeting moments suspended between reality and dreamscape. The fluid movements of the dancers merge with the haunting melodies of opera, transcending the confines of the present and transporting viewers to a realm where time knows no boundaries.
Santoré’s incorporation of surrealism and abstraction infuses the series with an enigmatic allure. Symbolic motifs emerge, blending familiar images with unfamiliar landscapes, inviting the audience to question the nature of memory and its connection to future aspirations.
The juxtaposition of surreal elements against abstract backgrounds evokes a sense of paradox, where the past and the future converge in a single, transcendent moment. Santoré’s deliberate blend of these artistic styles invites viewers to embark on a deeply introspective journey, exploring the intricacies of time, memory, and the intricate tapestry of human emotions.
“I Remember The Future, Yet I Look Forward To The Past” represents Robert Santoré’s relentless artistic exploration and evolution. With this series, he presents a captivating visual narrative that speaks to the profound complexities of the human experience, enticing viewers to reflect on their own perceptions of time, memory, and the boundless possibilities that lie ahead. Santoré’s ability to merge disparate artistic elements into a cohesive whole showcases his extraordinary talent and cements his place as a visionary artist pushing the boundaries of contemporary art.
Manhattan
Delivery: Thursday, October 12
$45,000
In New Jersey storage. Billy, I kind of want to save these for a solo show someday some place with the entire body of work….??? It needs to be stretched. I reuse the aluminum stretcher bars…the small studies are stunning and on wood panel…. even though they are painted today …. it’s almost as if they (in person) were painted during the time of Rembrandt …. its weird… I dig em.
“ORATIONES MEAE ERANT PARVAE ET FLAVAE” (My Prayers Were Small And Yellow) 66 X 204in (167.64 x 518.16cm) Oil, enamel, chrome beeswax on linen
Manhattan
Delivery: Thursday, October 12
$45,000
In New Jersey storage. Billy, I kind of want to save these for a solo show someday some place with the entire body of work….??? It needs to be stretched. I reuse the aluminum stretcher bars…the small studies are stunning and on wood panel…. even though they are painted today …. it’s almost as if they (in person) were painted during the time of Rembrandt …. its weird… I dig em.
Opera
Continuing his series of monumental works “These Colors Taste Like Music: Opera Series” highlighting paintings and works on paper created by Santoré in 2021 and continuing through 2023.
Santoré introduces to the fore his distinct visual vocabulary of high impact visual gestures, complex colour systems, and allusions which brings into focus the incisive mind at the heart of Santoré’s multifarious pursuits through which he has mined a range of cultural, political, art historical, and fantastical subjects.
Using brushwork, light, and balance, Santoré captures moments within his personal history. These works primarily originate from within themselves, oil paint, oil stick, military and industrial enamels on cotton rag mounted to Belgian linen.
These monumental and large scale compositions center on ethereal, gestural figures within the energy of expansive, disparate colour filled urban landscapes.
While some appear more clearly, other figures are defined by lyrical swathes of paint suggesting a face, the outline of a body, intertwined within tidal flows of shoreline currents, the sounds of the city and the inner voice of the artist.
Robert purposefully leaves the origin, gender, and raison d’être of the forms within his paintings up to interpretation, allowing the viewer to step into his world, yet form their own reading of his work.
The resulting powerful works vibrate with energy, emotion and movement both in nature and media.
Manhattan
Delivery: October 1
$45,000
Monumental Word Paintings
The use of words and text in twentieth century art can first be traced back to cubist painters such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso who added letters and words, painted and collaged, into still lives.
Playing with language was also central to Dada artists who left an important legacy with their radical, often humorous use of words.
The dadaists as well as the 1960’s pop artists, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Warhol, Ed Ruscha and the monumental large scale works by James Rosenquist are all influential inspirations to Santoré and his use of words in an ambiguous and playful way could be seen as an expression of that influence.
Santoré plays with language in his text pieces, using devices such as onomatopoeia (a word that sounds like its meaning), puns, alliteration (a phrase or series of words where the first or second letter is repeated), and contrasting meanings.
Many of his early works such as FAMOUS (1988) depict single words in a strong typographic format or font. A more brooding atmosphere emerges in the later series, HIGH YIELD JUNK BOND (1989), which illustrates the words overlaid with imagery recalling declining Southern California industrial complexes.
“I’ve made paintings from verbatim with words from lyrics in music or certain sections of books. Of course the words use come from every source. Sometimes they come from a conversation in a podcast and sometimes in one on one conversations, or things see on the street. I’ve had ideas come to me literally in my sleep, on the subway, or while sitting in the lineup surfing. I tend to lean into these ideas and on blind faith feel obliged to use.”
Other works such as FITS & STARTS (2019), FAST FOOD (2021) & PÃPƏL NUNCIO (2022) reference advertising while setting the text against iconic abstraction of cold war and space race era imagery Santoré witnessed as a child of a military family during the Vietnam War. His keen interest in the Apollo Moon missions as a child resonates as well as his introduction to renaissance masterworks retooled and germane to current commercial and social media trends.
“FAST FOOD” 60 x 306in (152.4 x 777.24cm) 100 x 176in (245 x 447cm) Oil, oil stick, military and industrial enamels on paper on Belgian linen
Manhattan
Delivery: October 10
$45,000
“HIGH YIELD, JUNK BOND”
©1989 60 x 216in (152.4 x 548.64cm) Oil, oil stick, military and industrial enamels, roofing tar, conte crayon, graphite, bird shit, newsprint solvent transfer on canvas on wood panels
Houston, Texas
Delivery: Thursday, October 10
$45,000
“BULL MARKET”
©1988 60 X 126 X 120in (152.4 x 320.04 x 304.8cm) Oil, encaustic wax, bees wax, roofing tar, charcoal, military and industrial enamels, 24ct gold chain on canvas on wood panels
Houston, Texas
Delivery: Thursday, October 10
$45,000
“FITS & STARTS” 60 x 216in (152.4 x 548.64cm) Oil, oil stick, military & industrial enamels, aluminum shapes on birch panel with micro-layer clay ground
Manhattan
Delivery: October 1
$45,000
Please note the painting I am thinking is the sister painting which dose not have the shapes and words. It’s sunning and here in my studio – I can have this painting to you within 10 days. I will send you photos and post them here shortly.
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
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