Santiago Perez Texas, USA

"Over the years my painting has added up to what seems like a Cartoon Land, a world I call Fantomas.  It is populated by cartoon beings, animals and fantastic creatures, toys, contraptions, and beings that stand in for counterparts in the real world.   I suppose it is a type of satire and commentary on life in general, not of great, worldly import, but mostly of my own sphere of apprehension.  Fairy tales, mythology, and pop culture, provide a ready source of inspiration.  I love reading books and stories of all kinds, from all lands and peoples.  There are princesses from fairy tales, Spanish Infantas from Velasquez paintings, knights and dragons of ancient lore, wizards and alchemical magic, otter boys as Salingeresque writers, little orphan clowns raised by wolves creating strange Freudian kinships, huge battles with toy armies and invading ETs, and many other visual inventions.   I write back-stories for all of the images. " 

- Santiago Pérez

Santiago Pérez is known for paintings that explore a surreal world of adventure.  His panoply of characters mirror elements of the human condition.  Each figure is illustrated on metal, canvas, or linen with a personality that has developed increasingly over each series.  His smaller paintings convey a dramatic sense of immediacy, while his larger works are grand ruminations on art and life.

Pérez draws from an absurdist tradition that stretches from Hieronymus Bosch and François Rabelais to twentieth century playwrights Alfred Jarry and Antonin Astraud.  His well-known characters such as Mergatroid, La Infanta, and Big Head, reappear in humorous yet tense circumstances as a cartoon-like manifestation of our own reality.  Painting deep into the night, Santiago Pérez creates a place where wit and concepts spar with conviction and where pure imagination reigns supreme.