052 http://www.AmericanArtCollector.com
I
t can be argued that art is a period.
It’s a conclusion. It’s finality. It’s an
artist applying the last bit of paint,
standing back to look at the canvas and
proclaiming, “I am finished.”
But before that period ends the sentence,
there are usually several commas—pauses
in the sentence to denote other thoughts
and ideas. For artists these pauses come
at natural places: the pause between idea
and sketch, the pause between sketch and
prepping a canvas, the pause after a rough
drawing, after passes of light and detail are
added, after a signature is signed.
In Cesar Santo’s newest pieces, the Florida
artist argues that art isn’t just the finished
work. It’s the process. It’s every layer between
the initial idea and completed painting. It’s
layer after layer of paint, each one its own
work of magnificence, each one informing
the one to follow.
And it’s a shame those layers get covered.
“These are the building blocks of art, and
I want people to see them,” Santos says from
his Miami studio. “Sometimes as artists we
have to cover that magic up as we finish a
painting, but with these new works I want to
leave the magic exposed to the viewer.”
Santos’ new show, Pages, which opens
December 7 at Maxwell Alexander Gallery
in Los Angeles, will present paintings that
highlight each stage of a work of art. Many
of the pieces include every step Santos goes
through in the course of a painting: from
blank canvas to quick sketches to color
studies to detailed drawings to
the initial layers of oil paint to,
finally, his fully rendered figures.And these layers aren’t just static blocks of
ideas glued together—the layers are fluid and
they swirl together in comforting ways.
“I love seeing the drawing underneath,
the charcoal and the shadowy shapes. The
proportions and forms, they are all right
there, I’m just leaving each piece in an unfin-
ished state,” Santos says. “I’ll typically do the
drawing first and spray it with a fixative and
then add a layer of color. I have an impres-
sionistic approach, but just sort of selectively
with each area of the work.”
Paintings in the show include Page 43,
Domesticated, which shows a man with
his arm lifted to reveal tattoos on his bare
chest and side. A dog appears ready to
lick at his fingers while a cow grazes in the
background. Santos bisects the main figure
with color and style: his upper torso is fully
painted with exceptional detail in the facial
expression and skin, while the lower torso
and legs are essentially a drawing with
varying degrees of detail. “I saw this man
in downtown Miami. He was homeless and
I had seen him several times before. I saw
him changing his shirt and I asked if I could
pay him to photograph him and he agreed,”
the artist says. “I loved his tattoos and his
poses. He was in the city, so I added later the
cow and the more natural landscape.”
In Page 41, Wild, he paints his young
nephew, who is reacting in a big way to
an opossum that hangs from a branch in
the corner of the painting. The work func-
tions as a dual exploration of the strange
dynamic of Santos’ world: the
possum and the boy in his
underwear seemingly have noUnder
the Hood
Cesar Santos assembles his newest
pieces in layered segments revealing the
mechanisms at work under the paint.
BY MICHAEL CLAWSON1
Cesar Santos in his
Miami studio.