Gerry Santora

Born 1965, Bellerose, NY
Albuquerque NM 1978-1990
Chicago, IL 1990-present.

I was introduced to photography in an entry level photo class at the University of New Mexico sometime in the mid 1980's. For me, photography was this amazing hybrid process. Part art, part chemistry, it fed my appetite for the mechanical and technical that had dominated my life up to that point, while introducing me to an entirely new world of art, art history, and criticism, and design.

As I matured as an image maker, my work always resided in an area somewhere between photography and painting. I used photographs to render paintings that were luminous and scarce; isolated figures engulfed in space and light; personal allegories. These were back in the 1980’s when computers and digital images were still years away from becoming a viable reality for image making. I worked with slides, projectors, and whatever else I could get my hands on to create images and paintings. This hybridization of process would become a cornerstone of, not only my image making processes, but my career as a creative director for a custom manufacturer that specialized in alternative materials and material combinations.

In 1993 I become the creative director, and founder o...

BFA w/emphasis in painting, 1989, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
1 year/MFA program, 1991, University of Illinois, Chicago

ASA Gallery, Albuquerque NM, 1988 Group Show: Painting
ASA Gallery, Albuquerque, NM, 1989 Featured Show: Painting
Crown Gallery, Albuquerque, NM, 1990 Solo Show: Painting
Pilsen East Art Walk, Chicago, IL 1990 Painting
Pilsen East Art Walk, Chicago, IL 1991 Painting: Featured
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1991 Primary show/Lecture: Painting
Lorenzo Rodriguez Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1992 Featured Show
One of A Kind Show; Chicago, IL 2012: Mixed Media Paintings
Projekt30; Online Show; 03/2013: Mixed Media Paintings
Loop Alliance Pop Up Gallery Solo Exhibition; Chicago; 2013/2014
Cornelia St. Studios; Chicago; Featured Artist Summer Group Show 2014
Carbon; Water Street Studios Invitation Group Show; St. Charles, IL 2014
Bridgeport Studios 2016 Annual Group Invitational Exhibit; Chicago; 2016
Luanem Gallery; Annual Invitational Group Exhibition; Albuquerque; 2017
Luanem Gallery; Annual Invitational Group Exhibition; Albuquerque; 2018
Luanem Gallery; Annual Invitational Group Exhibition; Albuquerque; 2019