Jorge Santos (b. Quivicán, Cuba, 1973) creates visceral, abstract works on a monumental scale. Throughout his long and celebrated career, he has continued to experiment in material (acrylic, oil, mixed media, found objects, iron, and wood), in form (painting, sculpture, and installation) and in his process - using a brush taped to a long pole, a palette knife, his hands, and the sole of his shoe as tools. Jorge Santos has exhibited his work extensively in solo and group exhibitions at institutions, galleries, and art fairs internationally since 1994. His work has been written about and discussed by prominent Cuban scholars and critics (including Rafael Acosta de Arriba, Elivia Rosa Castro, Nelson Herrera Ysla, Elsa Vega Dopico, and José Manuel Noceda, amongst others). His works are represented in the collections of major institutions (Perez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Cuban Art Vienna).
Throughout his career, Jorge Santos has proved himself something of an anomaly; within Cuba’s predominantly figurative art landscape, he developed an early and enduring commitment to abstraction.
Working on multiple pieces simultaneously--arranged sometimes on the floor, other times on the wall-- Santos wields paint like an extension of himself. It is common to find shoe prints, handmade gestures, and stains alongside brush strokes in his works.
He lives and works in Miami, Florida.
COLLECTIONS (SELECTED)
Cuban Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna - Austria
Pérez Museum, Miami - USA
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana - Cuba
Private Collection of Jorge Pérez
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 Bingo Galeria Collage Habana, Havana, Cuba
2015 Fuera de la Raya, Galeria Villa Manuela, Havana, Cuba
2015 Work in Progress, Collateral 12 Biennial of Havana, Morro-Cabaña Cultural Complex, Havana, Cuba.
2013 Sueños, 1st Biennial of Panama (guest artist), Panama City, Panama.
2012 Jorge Luis Santos Sueños prohibidos, Galeria Collage Havana, Havana, Cuba.
2012 De Paso Galerie De Gelegenheid, The Hague, The Netherlands.
2012 ADN Collateral 11 Havana Biennial, Morro-Cabaña Cultural Complex, Havana, Cuba.
2011 De la Materia y el Tiempo (On Matter and Time) Galleria Orizzonti Arte, Bari, Italy.
2009 La cuenta no da (The bill does not count) Collateral to the X Havana Biennial, San Francisco de Asis Convent, Havana, Cuba.
2008 De la Materia y el Tiempo, Panamerican Gallery art project, Miami.
2008 Jorge Luis Santos Con todos los Hierros, Galeria La Acacia, Havana, Cuba.
2007 Negro Sobre Negro (Black on black) La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2006 Luces (with Antonio Vidal), La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2005 Erosiones (Erosions) Small Space Gallery, National Plastic Arts Council, Havana, Cuba.
2005 De la Matiera y el Tiempo (On matter and time) Havana Club Foundation, Havana Club Rum Museum, Havana, Cuba.
2004 Abstracto, y … Galleria Bona Sforza, Palazzo Colavecchio, Bari, Italy.
2004 Galleria Palazzo Tanzarella, Ostuni, Italy.
2004 Galleria d'Arte, Mastrovito Espressioni, Taranto, Italy.
2001 Galleria 3.14. Petruzzelli Theatre, Bari, Italy.
2001 Santos Galleria Tempo & Arte, Andria, Italy
2001 Tras la Ventana (Behind the window) Casa Guayasamin, Havana, Cuba.
2001 Desde el paraiso … (From heaven) Galleria Palazzo Palmieri, Trani, Italy.
2000 Juego de colores Tholos, Centro Internacional de Arte Grafica, Venecia, Italy.
1999 La ciudad Creative Gallery, Roma, Italy.
1994 De la mancha a la impression Museo Municipal, Quivicán, Cuba.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2018 Expo Chicago Art Fair, with Cernuda Arte, Chicago.
2018 Art New York, with Cernuda Arte, New York.
2018 Dallas Fair, with Cernuda Arte, Dallas.
2018 Art Wynwood, with Cernuda Arte, Miami.
2018 Fair West Palm Beach, with Cernuda Arte, West Palm Beach.
2017 Art Miami, with Cernuda Arte, Florida.
2017 Expo Chicago Art Fair, with Cernuda Arte, Chicago.
2017 Art New York, with Cernuda Arte, New York.
2017 Dallas Fair, with Cernuda Arte, Texas.
2017 Art Wynwood, with Cernuda Arte, Miami.
2017 Fair West Palm Beach, with Cernuda Arte, West Palm Beach.
2016 Art Miami, Florida, with Cernuda Arte, Miami.
2016 Fuerza y Sangre: imaginarios de la bandora en el arte cubano (Imaginaries of the Flag in Cuban Art), Pabellón, Cuba.
2016 Gran Teatro de La Habana, Havana.
2014 Scope (represented by Galería Collage Habana), Miami.
2013 Expoarte, 30 ° Fiera Internazionale di Arte Contemporanea, Bari, Italy.
2013 AA Afordable, Art Fair, Milan, Italy.
2013 PULSE Miami.
2013 20 Cuban Artists of Today, José Martí Memorial, Havana, Cuba PINTA Fair (represented by La Acacia Gallery, Havana), Miami.
2012 Handmade Technology, Galleria Orizzonti Arte, Ostuni, Italy.
2012 Feria International Contemporary Art Fair (represented by La Acacia Gallery, Havana) Moscow, Russia.
2012 Expoarte 29 ° Fiera Internazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Bari, Italy.
2012 Mastrovito expressioni d'Arte, Martina Franca, Taranto, Italy.