Items Similar to Mesmer, 2008
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8
Alexandro SANTANAMesmer, 20082008
2008
About the Item
You meet the Spanish artist Alexandro Santana and you think, cripes, can he be for real? So handsome, so flamboyant, so seductive, so amusing -- you’re not sure whether it’s intentional or inadvertent. And then you discover he is the son of a notorious Dominican admiral, that the tyrannical dictator Trujillo was best man at his parents’ wedding, that his mother was a fabled high-society beauty, that he grew up on battleships and estancias before going, inevitably, to Brown.
Even more surprisingly, Santana stayed in Providence for graduate studies at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he received his degree in architecture, soon plying his trade in Manhattan and his adopted city of Savannah, where he eventually set up his own firm. Astonishingly, in this era of CAD, he draws every detail entirely by hand.
Considering his tweeds, his bow ties, his drawl and debonair dress, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that Santana’s architectural taste is strongly neo-classical, inspired by the vernacular Palladianism of antebellum Georgia, with of course a touch of the Postmodern.
Santana’s detailed and decorous architectural plans for his clients are complemented by drawings created for solely for himself -- exotic imaginary cityscapes and urban fantasias, like the dreams of Sir John Soane channeled through Aldo Rossi or John Hejduk. One’s appreciation of these drawings is enriched in turn by Santana’s pencil portraits of friends and lovers, personal sketches of disarming intimacy.
Santana’s line has a languid, fluid eroticism to it which perfectly suits his subjects; he touches them all with a graphite whisper coaxing them to appear.
But the surprise within the Santana oeuvre is his series of large-scale abstractions, outrageously bright and scandalously juicy paintings that were recently on view at the Besharat Gallery in Atlanta. The setting was indeed a fine and dramatic one, the scale and grandeur of its spaces, with walls of pure local granite, hardly better suited to a display of riotous color and anarchic vigor.
Some of Santana’s works bear hints of fragmentary imagery, from guns and weapons to genitals and guts, as if indexing a sublime violence matched by the savagery of his palette and his brushwork. In the 48 x 60 in. oil Haecceitia, for instance, formless blotches of rose and pale blue sprout a black line drawing of a foot in a high heel, or a series of louche paint marks that might well be lipstick kisses.
Clearly, more is going on here than idle expressionism. His exhibition title lends a clue: "Haecceitia: Homage à Michel Foucault." Plumbing the catalogue essay, it becomes clear that Santana is seeking not decorative effect or personal expression, but rather is making a stab at painterly semiotics, an open-ended mode of signification ("haecceity" can be translated as "thisness") that the artist claims "takes on a pictorial platform" in his work.
Whether or not Santana’s paintings rise to this philosophically mystical level, they certainly have an artistic flamboyance and wit that is as eccentrically remarkable as the artist himself. And that should be enough for anyone’s first major solo exhibition.
- Creator:Alexandro SANTANA (1965, Spanish)
- Creation Year:2008
- Dimensions:Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU155528436622
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 2008
1stDibs seller since 2021
16 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 12 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Atlanta, GA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Ogeeche LamentLocated in Atlanta, GAYou meet the Spanish artist Alexandro Santana and you think, cripes, can he be for real? So handsome, so flamboyant, so seductive, so amusing -- you’re not sure whether it’s intentional or inadvertent. And then you discover he is the son of a notorious Dominican admiral, that the tyrannical dictator Trujillo was best man at his parents’ wedding, that his mother was a fabled high-society beauty, that he grew up on battleships and estancias before going, inevitably, to Brown. Even more surprisingly, Santana stayed in Providence for graduate studies at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he received his degree in architecture, soon plying his trade in Manhattan and his adopted city of Savannah, where he eventually set up his own firm. Astonishingly, in this era of CAD, he draws every detail entirely by hand. Considering his tweeds, his bow ties, his drawl and debonair dress, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that Santana’s architectural taste is strongly neo-classical, inspired by the vernacular Palladianism of antebellum Georgia, with of course a touch of the Postmodern. Santana’s detailed and decorous architectural plans for his clients are complemented by drawings created for solely for himself -- exotic imaginary cityscapes and urban fantasias, like the dreams of Sir John Soane channeled through Aldo Rossi or John Hejduk...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- TandooriLocated in Atlanta, GAYou meet the Spanish artist Alexandro Santana and you think, cripes, can he be for real? So handsome, so flamboyant, so seductive, so amusing -- you’re not sure whether it’s intentio...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- HopscotchLocated in Atlanta, GAYou meet the Spanish artist Alexandro Santana and you think, cripes, can he be for real? So handsome, so flamboyant, so seductive, so amusing -- you’...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Spermal SerpentLocated in Atlanta, GAYou meet the Spanish artist Alexandro Santana and you think, cripes, can he be for real? So handsome, so flamboyant, so seductive, so amusing -- you’re not sure whether it’s intentio...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Colonial BootyLocated in Atlanta, GAYou meet the Spanish artist Alexandro Santana and you think, cripes, can he be for real? So handsome, so flamboyant, so seductive, so amusing -- you’re not sure whether it’s intentio...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Two Thousand FrontBy Carlos TiradoLocated in Atlanta, GACarlos J. Tirado (born on April 3, 1964 in Caracas, Venezuela) is an artist, painter and sculptor who has developed a very personal and precise line of work linked to Neo-Pop art. With plenty of personal art exhibitions, Tirado has participated in numerous collective exhibitions, receiving different awards such as “III Premio de Escultura” del Certamen Aires de Córdoba in 2004 and other recognitions, among them, at the Venezuelan Embassy in DC (2005), and the X Latin Art Festival of Atlanta (2005). Childhood Tirado grew up in an upper-middle-class family environment. His inclination for the arts started from an early age. At 8 years old, he was already experimenting with tridimensional forms, creating molds out of cast lead from pieces previously gathered on the streets. These first artistic experiences led by his inquisitive nature, provided the ground to continue exploring the possibilities with different materials like wood, waste and plaster. His childhood games were centered around painting and sculpting, which played an important role that ranged from recreational to aesthetics. When Tirado turned 12 years of age, his parents agreed for him to attend private art classes with professor Javier Hernandez in Caracas. Later on, he realized that Art was a profession that required investment in materials, reason that led him to work at a furniture store painting landscapes and figurative art to decorate the exhibit room. He created numerous paintings of Caracas’ famous mountain: El Avila...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media
You May Also Like
- 'That Was Just A Dream Some Of Us Had'. Mixed media painting, framedBy Sophia MilliganLocated in Penzance, GB'That Was Just A Dream Some Of Us Had' is a mixed media painting on watercolour paper, with rich deep blue tones of cyanotype solution used as a painting medium. This original, abstr...Category
2010s Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media
- 'Noraezean VII' Mixed Media on CanvasLocated in Rye, NYAlberto Letamendi, is an artist from Ordizia (Basque Country) born in 1964. In his work, whether in painting or sculpture, he uses various techniques with a preference for natural ma...Category
2010s Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Oil
- 'Superposiciones VII' Mixed Media on CanvasLocated in Rye, NYAlberto Letamendi, is an artist from Ordizia (Basque Country) born in 1964. In his work, whether in painting or sculpture, he uses various techniques...Category
2010s Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media
- 'Noraezean X' Mixed Media on CanvasLocated in Rye, NYAlberto Letamendi, is an artist from Ordizia (Basque Country) born in 1964. In his work, whether in painting or sculpture, he uses various techniques with a preference for natural ma...Category
2010s Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Oil
- 'Noraezean XI' Mixed Media on CanvasLocated in Rye, NYAlberto Letamendi, is an artist from Ordizia (Basque Country) born in 1964. In his work, whether in painting or sculpture, he uses various techniques...Category
2010s Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media
- "A quiet place"Located in Zofingen, AGI try to convey a tranquil and serene environment, a peaceful natural setting, a secluded waterfall, and a calm lake surrounded by mountains. For this, I use muted colors, soft text...Category
2010s Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Acrylic
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Society Beauties
Painting Before The Wedding
Classical Rose Painting
Red Rose Dress
Painting Handsome Man
Lovers Kissing
Blue Wedding Dress
Red Pencil Line Drawing
Oil Painting Neo Impressionist
High Heels With Bow
Admiral Portrait
Portrait Handsome Man
Portrait Of A Handsome Man
Portrait Of Handsome Man
Bow Platform Heels
Blue Platform High Heels
Bow Tie Painting
Large Impressionist Cityscape Paintings