Jump to content

Draft:Kristof Santy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lacuna Leemte (talk | contribs) at 17:22, 23 February 2024. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Kristof Santy

Kristof Santy (born October 26 1987 in Roeselare) is a Belgian contemporary draughtsman and painter, who, beïng an uknown artist, suddenly gained international fame in 2021. He lives and works in Roeselare and has a second studio in French Flanders.[1]

In 2021, he received the honorary title of Cultural Ambassador of the City of Roeselare.[2]

"It's not often that an unknown artist, working in relative secrecy, creates such a coherent and successful body of work waiting to be discovered." (Bella Bonner-Evans in FAD Magazine).[3]

Biography

Education

Kristof Santy was born into an art-loving family. He learned to draw based on instruction booklets. He visited museums and cultural cities with his parents and made his first works at a young age. He studied graphic design in Bruges and took a cartoon drawing course at the “Atelier voor Plastische Kunsten” in Wevelgem.[4] In his teens, he made posters for youth organizations and cartoons.[5] At the age of 19 he went to work for the printing and publishing house Roularta in Roeselare, which he continued for more than 14 years.[1]

Early years

Self-made artist

However Santy remained passionate about art. At home he copied artistic images that he found in Roularta's magazines. He started taking evening classes at the Free Art Academy of Roeselare (SASK). His teachers recognized his natural talent and encouraged him. They gave him the freedom to experiment with large format works.[6] He never felt the lack of a full-time art education as a shortcoming.[1] [5]It allowed him to discover his artistic style through masses of art books, museum visits and constant experimentation.[1] This explains why he describes himself as a self-made artist.[7]

Influence

Initially he tried out a wide variety of styles, each  time for a short period. At the Kunstmuseum Den Haag he became acquainted with the work of Jean Brusselmans.[1] The personal touch and especially the freedom of stylizing the environment without fixed rules was a revelation. In particular the flat design appealed to him.[5]

The colours and dreamy atmosphere of the surrealist Neo Rauch from Leipzig also made a big impression on him.[6] The work of the Belgian artist Joseph Willaert showed the opportunity to transform one's own environment into art, in addition to the sensitivity of the naïve view.[4]

In the museums in London Santy became acquainted with great masters such as Caravaggio and Francisco de Zurbaran and  was impressed by the depth, layering and colour palette that oil painting could offer. As a result, he switched from acrylic paint to oil paint.[5]

In addition, it was mainly European Pop Art that caught his attention, in particular the pseudo-realistic objects of Konrad Klapheck and the pictorial techniques of Domenico Gnoli.[4]

Own style

He found no satisfaction in working "in the style of" or on the basis of photographs. He was searching his own style based on his imagination, which could give him a feeling of complete artistic freedom. He found it in an expressive way of painting folk art and the beauty of the everyday.[8][9] The puzzle of the numerous artists, filmmakers, comics, old prints, books, education, flea market finds and other experiences that had influenced him in the year-long search came together harmoniously.[6]

2021: Atelier Thomas Serruys

In 2021, he unexpectedly received an offer for an exhibition of Thomas Serruys in his eponymous gallery/studio in Bruges.[10] [11] [12]The exhibition was a great success and was visited by the leading curator Sasha Bogojev, who lives in the Netherlands. In a review[13] in the Californian art magazine Juxtapoz, Bogojev described the exhibition as "one of the strongest debuts we've witnessed in a long time".[2]

Internationally acclaimed artist

In the same year he received an offer for a solo exhibition at the Unit Gallery in London and for a group exhibition at the Everyday Gallery in Antwerp.[14] Bogojev put him in touch brought with galleries in Vienna (Christine König), Los Angeles (M+B) and Brussels (Sorry We're Closed). He was able to make a career out of art.[15]

Writing in the Art & Design magazine "FAD Magazine" the authoritative art critic Bella Bonner-Evans noted  that a sudden transition from relative obscurity to fame in the art world, as happened to Santy, is extremely rare but not accidental. Without even realizing it, Santy had created a coherent and layered body of work waiting to be discovered.[3][16]

In 2022, he had solo exhibitions with Christine König in Vienna and Home Sweet Home in Los Angeles. One notable exhibition was his solo exhibition "La Grande Bouffe" at the Unit Gallery in London in 2022.[17] The title was in line with his work. After all, many of his paintings have food and gastronomy as a theme, directly or indirectly.[18]

In the same year he was able to participate in group exhibitions in Marbella, at Eden in Roeselare, Christine König in Vienna and Geukens & De Vil in Knokke.

In 2023, he had a solo exhibition at the Brussels gallery "Sorry We're Closed"and from  December 16 to February 25 2024, his first solo exhibition entitled "Bric-à-Brac"  in the municipal exhibition hall Ter Posterie in Roeselare, his hometown.[19] His themes are universal, but in many of his works his connection with Roeselare is present in one way or another.[20][21][19]

Style

Santy has a large production of enigmatic images with interiors, still lifes, workers, landscapes, food, gastronomy, fishing boats[22], everyday objects[17] and folklore stories[8] from his own environment[9] as well as from cookbooks or films.[17] His palette is vibrant and very colourful, he makes monuments from simple objects. He is not a storyteller,[9] he eschews any form of anecdote in his work.[6] He just shows. It is up to the viewer whether or not to find a meaning. The resemblance to naïve art is a deliberate choice. Like Jacques Tati, he wants to see life as a child.[1]

As with Klapheck the title is an essential part of a work, but unlike Klapheck it is a businesslike description of what he wants to show.[6] The almost claustrophobic entrapment of the image in the frame creates a sense of silent menace.[4]

The efforts to give his shapes the perfect line are a visible characteristic of the work.[4] The creation process with layers, overpaintings and sketch lines must be visible in the end result.[4] Like Jean Brusselmans, he opts for a flat shape of his objects, free from any logic or conventional perspective:

He is represented by "Sorry We're Closed" in Brussels, Christine König in Vienna and  M+B in Los Angeles and Milan.[19]

Book

In 2023 an art book about Kristof Santy titled "Playtime" was published by Lubok Verlag.[4]

Gallery

Website of the artist: Kristof Santy – visual artist

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Lut Clincke (2023-04-06). "Kristof Santy, van arbeider tot bejubeld kunstenaar". KW Thuis in West-Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Roularta. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  2. ^ a b Mario De Wilde (2021-12-17). "Maarten Schaubroeck en Kristof Santy nieuwe culturele ambassadeurs van Roeselare". Het Nieuws van West-Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  3. ^ a b Bella Bonner-Evans (2022-07-23). "OUTSIDER ARTIST TURNED INTERNATIONAL SENSATION KRISTOF SANTY TALKS TO BELLA BONNER-EVANS". FAD Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Kristof Santy, Declercq Joost, Louis Philippe Van Eeckhoutte, Sébastien Janssen (2023). Playtime (in Dutch). Lubok. ISBN ISBN: 9783945111956. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c d Yves Joris (2022). "Kristof Santy - De alledaagse schoonheid van een aardbei". OKV Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  6. ^ a b c d e Kristof Santy (2024-01-25). "Lezing Kristof Santy". SASK Roeselare (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  7. ^ Santy, Kristof (2023-12-13). Bric-à-Brac (tentoonstellingsbrochure) (in Dutch). De Spil Roeselare.
  8. ^ a b "About". Persoonlijke Website Kristof Santy (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  9. ^ a b c "Kristof Santy". Kunstendatabank (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  10. ^ "Kristof Santy - Nijverheid I". Atelier Thomas Serruys. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  11. ^ "Kristof Santy 28.05.2021-13.06.2021 Nijverheid I". Website Atelier Thomas Serruys (in Dutch). 2021. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  12. ^ "De bruisende kunstscene van Antwerpen". OvG Management (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  13. ^ Sasha Bogojev (2021-06-15). "Kristof Santy's Solo Debut @ Galerie Thomas Serruys". Justapoz Art & Culture. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  14. ^ Helen Hillyard. "Kristof Santy creates colourful and vibrant images inspired by folk tales and customs and his immediate surroundings. Heavily influenced by Jean Brusselmans, he finds freedom in the expressive painting of mundane and everyday subjects". Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  15. ^ Template:Citeer nieuws
  16. ^ "OUR CONTRIBUTORS". Bricks. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  17. ^ a b c Olivia Hingley (2022-07-19). "Gastronomy meets 70s European pop art in Kristof Santy's delectable paintings". It's nice that. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  18. ^ "Exhibitions" (in Dutch). Persoonlijke website Kristof Santy. Retrieved 2023-12-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ a b c Micha Pycke (2023). "Kristof Santy strijkt voor het eerst neer in zijn thuisstad Roeselare met de solotentoonstelling "Bric-à-Brac"". Club Paradis (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  20. ^ Bert Feys (2021-12-17). "Schilder Kristof brak helemaal door in 2021". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  21. ^ Bert Feys (2023-12-13). "Als abonnee kan je dit Plus Artikel artikel lezen. Kristof Santy komt thuis na tentoonstellingen in L.A., Londen en Wenen: "Mijn werken hebben vaak een link met Roeselare"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  22. ^ Arianna Mercado (2022). "Kristof Santy". Ocula. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Kristof_Santy&oldid=1209804318"