Robert Santore

About the Artist

Robert Santoré was born in Houston, Texas, a fifth-generation Texan whose early life unfolded between the UK and the coastal cities of Southern California, including Huntington, Newport, and Laguna Beach. Immersed from a young age in surfing culture and the Southern California beach lifestyle, Santoré developed a strong visual sensibility rooted in movement, rhythm, and freedom. Raised in a creative family, his artistic talent was recognized early, leading him naturally toward a life in the arts. Santoré studied at Parsons School of Design in New York City and later at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, where he refined his skills as a painter. Beginning his exhibition career in the 1980s, he became known for his bold, expressive approach and vibrant use of color. His work frequently features abstracted figures, text, urban landscapes, and symbolic elements, all rendered with dynamic brushwork and a strong sense of energy and immediacy. Influenced by Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art of the 1950s and 60s, his paintings balance emotional intensity with ironic commentary. Throughout his career, Santoré has continually evolved, experimenting with a wide range of media including oil, encaustic, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, and industrial enamels. He often works using the alla prima technique—painting wet-on-wet—to preserve spontaneity and raw expression. In addition to painting, he is an accomplished printmaker, producing etchings and lithographs alongside his studio practice. His work has been exhibited widely in galleries and museums in the United States and internationally and is held in numerous public and private collections. Santoré currently works from his Soho studio, continuing to create art that speaks directly, energetically, and across cultures—“standing on its own,” as he puts it, with the artist serving simply as the conduit.