Robert Santore is an internationally collected contemporary artist, painter & sculptor with an active studio practice in Manhattan, New York and Montgomery Texas.
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 National Bank (Now First Interstate Bank)/The Los Angles Museum of Contemporary Art, The Los Angeles Municipal Art Collection, The Jerry Solomon Gallery in Los Angeles, 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 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, mixed-media, 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.
View Extended CV | Texas Studio Tour | Manhattan Studio Tour | Work From The 80s/90s | Download Catalog (100MB)
Hand cut giant wood block prints, acrylics and oils on paper, charcoal drawings and limited edition museum quality giclée prints on the finest quality acid free papers.
These works each reference the large monumental works on canvas and wood panels. The subject matter "The Man Rabbit House", "The Club Sandwich Series" the "Tavarua Surfing & Kava Ceremonies", "Jellyfish" from my many travels to the South Pacific. Jazz in the East Village or Harlem, Disco in NYC, Prague and Madrid. The "Genetic Memories Series" ("What Tommy Saw" & "What Charlie Saw" from the stores from my grandfathers, living through the cold war and the deep art history scholarly roots of my family. COVID Nudes created during the worst of the lockdowns in Manhattan Studio all brought together in the large word paintings, converted into editions listed here.
MONUMENTAL LARGE SCALE MIXED-MEDIA WORKS | View All
60in″ x 306in″ (152.4cm" x 777.24cm)
Oil, oil stick, military & industrial enamels on canvas on birch panel with micro-layer clay ground.
View Original Oil Panel | View Editions | View Other Monumental Word Paintings
Hand printed & hand painted monoprints and limited edition giclée. Each original and unique.
42" X 130" Unframed
Approximate framed size 48" X 136"
Hand pained/altered. embellished custom printed giclée with watercolor, gauche, India ink, graphite, conte crayon on hand torn, hot press archival acid free watercolor paper
Original oil on canvas painted in 1989 (66" x 216") available. Please contact us for inquires.
View Original Oil On Canvas | View Editions | View Other Monumental Word Paintings
THE TAVARUA KAVA CEREMONY "In Fiji and in other island cultures in the South Pacific, a Kava ceremony is a centuries old ritual carried out in just about every village you might have the opportunity to be invited to visit and participate in.
It is commonplace for Fijian families and friends to gather together on a daily basis and enjoy kava together. It is what Fijians commonly refer to as ‘Fiji time’.
I was fortunate several times to present to Chief Druku Of Tavarua island a Kava offering.The kava ceremony focuses around the communal Kava tanoa (bowl). Guests sit in a circle around the bowl which is placed in front of Chief Druku. The ceremony commences with the actual production of the kava. The plant is pounded and the pulp placed into a cloth sack and mixed with water. The end result is a brownish coloured liquid – the Kava gold. It is then strained and ready for drinking.Your host will offer kava as high tide (full cup) or low tide (half cup). When presented with the kava, clap once and yell ‘Bula!’ (Fijian for hello). Drink the kava in one gulp if possible, clap three more times and end with the word Maca – pronounced ‘Ma-tha’.Finally, once you have finished your kava, you will feel a delightful sense of serenity and calm, with a slight numbness around your mouth, lips and tongue. A kava ceremony is always fun and full of laughter and smiles. Is is a true indicator of Fijian culture. This is why Fijians often serve kava to settle an argument or to make peace between villagers."
- Robert Santore
Studio practice: Texas
2018 - 2020 Studio Practice
Robert Santore operates studios in Montgomery County Texas and Manhattan's Upper West Side.
During the most challenging time of the 2020 COVID lock down, I decided to focus my attention creating a series of nudes using the same technique as the other works on paper and one I have employed for many years to create original, one-off monoprints. Each of these prints is unique and hand painted on the finest acid free oil papers and hand drawn with oil sticks and varnishes.
STUDIO PRACTICE: Manhattan
2018 - 2020 Studio Practice
Robert Santore operates studios in Montgomery County Texas and Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Studio Practice: Sculpture
"FITS & STARTS" in steel
The "FITS & STARTS" "jellyfish" shape realized in corten steel at monumental size located onsite at the Texas studio.
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