Thinking of Summer in Winter
Carlos Santiago, Lovely Bouquet, acrylic, oil pastel, and color pencil on canvas
13FOREST Gallery is proud and excited to present Thinking of Summer in Winter, an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Carlos Santiago.
Thinking of Summer in Winter began as a series of oil pastel drawings that Carlos Santiago made in Puerto Rico in early 2022. Santiago had returned to Caguas for the first time since 2019, his annual trips to reunite with his family put on hold during the height of the pandemic. Santiago experienced some culture shock returning to Puerto Rico, his home made unfamiliar by his long absence. Feeling as though he had forgotten parts of his culture, Santiago had the powerful experience of rediscovering where he grew up.
Secluded in the mountains, Santiago’s family home is a small paradise, with bountiful gardens overflowing with tropical flowers and trees bearing bananas, pineapples, and oranges. For an artist who primarily paints floral still lifes, the garden provided an endless source of inspiration that he could not find in New England. Santiago was able to share his artmaking practice with his parents for the first time, offering them a new perspective on their natural surroundings by showing them how he arranges his still lifes. His mother became intimately involved in his practice, acting as his creative director to influence which flowers he chose, and to determine when each drawing or painting was complete. Sharing these tender moments of creativity with his mother not only gave Santiago the opportunity to reconnect with his family, but to preserve some of the beauty of Puerto Rico to bring back with him to New England. After months of anticipation and uncertainty, Thinking of Summer in Winter marks the reopening of 13FOREST with a joyous burst of color.
On view May 21 - July 15, 2022
Sat 5/21, 4-6 pm: Opening Reception
Sat 6/25, 4-6 pm: Shadow and Light - a conversation with Carlos Santiago
Shop the exhibition online here.
Preview Thinking of Summer in Winter
About the Artist
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. 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.