Carlos Santiago
Carlos Santiago is a Puerto Rican-born artist who lives and works in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Before moving to Boston, Santiago obtained his Bachelors in Fine Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. He subsequently worked for ten years as a design professional in the fashion industry in New York City.
Carlos Santiago’s still lifes walk a line between representational and abstract art, with his primary source of inspiration being flowers and vases. In flowers, he finds complicated patterns, shapes, and repetition; elements that show up in all of his paintings. He has developed a signature technique that employs a sharp edge to create clean straight lines that extend the limits of his subjects, adding drama and energy and a bold recognition to each painting. His use of shadow plays an important role in his work, enhancing the contrast between the darkness and his vivid colors. Santiago doesn’t simply paint the still life subjects he sees, but the dream-like gestures that he feels. Working with familiar compositions, he hopes to create artwork that conveys not only the visual reality of his subjects, but the vibrant extension of energy into their surroundings.
Santiago was featured in his first solo show at 13FOREST, Thinking of Summer in Winter, from May 21 - July 15, 2022.
Santiago’s work will be highlighted in a solo exhibition at the Bacon Free Library in Natick, Massachusetts, from December 12, 2024 to January 22, 2025. Featuring many new paintings, the exhibition can be previewed here.
