Marc Santos

Marc Santos is a New York photographer whose long-exposure photographs transform dance into luminous abstractions of movement and memory. Rather than freezing a single instant, his photographs compress many moments into one frame, revealing patterns of motion that exist only through the camera.

Santos' photographs are created entirely in camera, without compositing multiple exposures. Working through improvisation rather than choreography, he collaborates with dancers to create images that occupy the space between representation and abstraction, preserving recognizable gestures while allowing movement itself to become the primary subject.

Born in New York, Santos received his first camera from his father, also a photographer. His background in jazz improvisation and decades as a New York stagehand inform his collaborative approach to photographing performers.

His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and internationally, and is held in private collections.

International Color Awards – Winners Book Selection (2025)
International Color Awards – Honorable Mention (2024)
Prix De La Photographie Paris (PX3) – Honorable Mention (2020)
Monochrome Photography Awards – Honorable Mention (2019)
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September 2026 – January 2027
Coffman Art Gallery – University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota

September 26 – November 3, 2024
Culture Lab LIC, Long Island City, New York

November 2023
Art Bath NYC
New York, NY

March 1 – July 1, 2021
SUNY Rockland
Suffern, New York

September 2019
Praxis Photo Arts Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota

July 2019
Glasgow Gallery of Photography
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

October 2018
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
Salt Lake City, Utah

May 27 – July 20, 2018
Utah Arts Festival
Salt Lake City, Utah