“Usually, political art in America doesn’t work — we don’t have a tradition of outstanding art in this genre, and the comfort of our lives is a distinct counter to the political messages we wish to convey. But to the artist’s credit, “PRESIDENT TRUMP” is not only a striking work of art, it is also an effective political condemnation.”-Jonathan Goodman
click HERE to read more
“In much of the work, Santa Maria cites highly specific moments from the recent history of the United States.
There is a photo of comedian Michelle Wolf, for example, whose speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2018 lambasted the media on both sides of the aisle for their compulsive coverage of the Trump administration. Elsewhere, a seemingly inane stock image of a half-avocado is a cheeky nod to the sinister viral stereotype that millenials’ financial troubles result from their overspending on luxurious food items. There are visuals that have now become symbolic, like football players kneeling in protest of racist police violence and placards held up during the 2017 Woman’s March.”
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Jim Kemnper Fine Art, Chelsea
501 West 23rd Street, facing 10th Avenue
I sat down with Paul K of Wake Island Pod to talk about my studio practice and what pushed me to get overtly political in the context of Trump's America.
Wake Island is a bi-monthly podcast exploring our attraction to the darker sides of life through conversations with novelists, filmmakers, and other artists.
In Paul's words, "The goal here is to make life seem seedier, stranger, and hopefully by doing so, closer to the truth."
I hope you'll give it a listen 📻
The Talent Show is a live variety series from writers and comedians Elna Baker and Kevin Townley. It creates an entirely new event each month based on a theme. I was invited to present a slideshow of my work for their Bardo Show with Ira Glass, Janeane Garofalo, my dear friend Henrietta Mantooth from our time at Yaddo, Chris Gethard, a brass Nirvana cover band, and more.
My Bardo ‘assignment’ was the hell realm (aggression and hatred) and I fucking took it there.
Tuesday, June 25th at Little Field in Brooklyn.
I’ve been working on a big paper collage that will make its (in progress) debut at SPRING/BREAK Art Show 2018.
Curated by Martina D’Amato and Elizabeth Fodde-Reguer, This Wild Parade explores the effects of the grotesque on the popular imagination and includes works by Aaron Johnson, Larry Mantello, Rebecca Morgan, a selection of Old Master prints by James Ensor and a Léger textile.
High Maintenance is character-driven web series about a cannabis delivery guy in New York. My round Eye of God collages made a special appearance in Qasim (HBO).
"Luxurious, twisty and humane, radiating new ideas about storytelling."
The New Yorker
"Idiosyncratic, unexpected, and wonderful"
Slate
"Stunning"
The New York Times
It's an essay. A chapbook. An art project. A zine. A state of mind. A way of being. An untimely meditation on science fiction, stardom, and surface reading.
With text by Christine Smallwood and Mark Sussman and original collages by yours truly, ScarJo is being published in a very underground edition of 100 by Peradam.
I'll be showing four of my shaped Nos. collages at The Local for a small group exhibition called AbEx Redux.
(opening reception is Thursday, April 7th 2016 from 6pm - 8pm)
"Santa Maria's collages present options of representation based on imagery that has been culled from a variety of sources, much like the visual information we collect on a daily basis. While his collages are devoid of symbolism, the images tease our imagination through recognizable bits of reality that encompass the gamut of the human condition and do so by referencing the scientific, artistic, surreal, biomorphic and humorous aspects of our world. As a whole, Santa Maria's collages are experiments in color, an aspect the artist controls fully, and possible readings of micro-messages, shaped entirely by the viewer's own cultural conditioning." - Thomai Serdari
Mary Jane Gibson of High Times Magazine visited my studio with photographer Samantha Marble to shoot the breeze about my work…and to get high AF of course ;)
Bushwick Open Studios
June 5th, 6th and 7th (2015)