Cesar Santos is a Cuban-American artist, born in 1982 in Santa Clara, Cuba and raised in Miami, Florida. Manuscripts, the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom, offers an encounter with his captivating and intuitive approach to abstraction. Throughout the exhibition, the works are characterised by forms that are tantalisingly close to figuration, yet which, through the artist’s technical mastery and expressive vision, are impossible to fathom as logical elements of reality. The spirit of each painting is infused with Santos’s study of the Old Masters, and with his personal experiences drawn from a rich tapestry of cultures.
The title Manuscripts refers to the improvisation with which Santos begins each painting, emphasising the raw and organic nature of his practice. Also, the term Manuscripts signals that each artwork can be ‘read’ and ‘interpreted’ by viewers to ascertain its significance – a significance that might be fresh and different for each person.
Cesar Santos is a Cuban-American artist whose signature abstract paintings are expressive evocations of his inner spirit, creating works that recall Old Master paintings yet are simultaneously unfathomable. His paintings are composed of lyrical, intangible forms that appear to shift and coalesce across the picture plane.
Cesar Santos. Manuscripts
Feb 28 – May 9, 2025
Robilant+Voena
London, UK