January 9, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes

“Momo” (2024), oil on canvas, 63 x 86 5/8 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Marc Straus Gallery, New York

Antonio Santín’s training as a sculptor lends itself to paintings with tactile textures and a dimensionally illusory quality.

From grid-like woven patterns to intertwined strands of fringe, Antonio Santín’s hyperrealistic oil paintings (previously) look incredibly similar to the ornamental carpets they’re modeled on. By studying real rugs and the way they scrunch, fold, and interact with light, he transfers these qualities to canvas. The overall designs, however, are a product of the artist’s imagination.

Santín trained as a sculptor, and his eye for shapes and the power of contrast lent itself to paintings with tactile textures and a dimensionally illusory quality. “In the past two years, as his technical skills allowed for far more detail than is found on a sewn carpet, he began to invent the entire image,” says Marc Straus, who is presenting Santín’s work in the artist’s seventh solo show with the gallery.

Detail of “Puente de plata”

The artist continues to employ a precisely calibrated pneumatic compressor that allows him to apply oil pigments millimeters at a time. Tens of thousands of individual dots are arranged to create a consistent rhythm across the entire surface.

“Puente de plata” (2024), oil on canas, 63 x 85 5/8 inches

New paintings in Puente de plata, or “silver bridge,” celebrate the relationship between abstraction and pure pattern, reveling in vibrant color and intricacy in works that are more personal. The show opens tomorrow and continues through March 1 in New York. Explore more on the gallery’s website and Santín’s Instagram. […]

“Victoria” (2024), oil on canvas, 94 1/2 x 78 3/4 inches

More: Tens of Thousands of Individual Dots Bring Ornamental Rugs to Life in Antonio Santín’s Paintings