Todd Sanders

Todd Sanders’ neon art evokes a time when America fell in love with motion. We hopped in the family wagon to explore the nation’s highways and byways, lured to motels, diners and curious roadside attractions by the colorful glow of gas molecules dancing inside artfully shaped tubes.
The sign masters who crafted those slices of Americana are Sanders’ heroes, and he’s built a career designing and creating original, entirely handmade neon works using their time-honored techniques. He calls his style modern vintage, but considers himself a pop artist, sharing a rich artistic vein mined by Andy Warhol and other pop-culture iconographers.
A Montgomery, TX native who began pursuing his muse in earnest after moving to Austin, Sanders’ work is prized by collectors. Clients include Willie Nelson, Shepard Fairey, Joe Rogan, Kacey Musgraves, Edie Brickell/ Paul Simon, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) and The Kings of Leon.
Sanders’ pieces have appeared in several films, including most of Robert Rodriguez’s projects and Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life,” as well as the pages of Esquire, Fortune, Texas Monthly and Southern Living magazines. The original version of his most popular design, his animated “Fireflies in a Mason Jar,” was created for the wedding...

1989-90 Art Institute of Houston
1990-92 Sam Houston State University
1992-95 Apprenticed at Ion Art Neon Studio

Major exhibits/shows/commissions:
The largest collection of Todd’s neon art is on public display in Bentonville, AR. Acquired by the OZ Art NWA, Todd’s neon adorns the streets and is sometimes hidden in alleys in the already art rich town which is home to the Crystal Bridges Art Museum.

Solo Show, Samuel Owen Gallery, Nantucket MA, 2015.
Featured artist, Samuel Owen Gallery, Greenwich Conn., 2015.
Featured artist, “Austin & Newport Collide,” An art, wine & food collaboration, presented by Michael Zschoche and sponsored by The Pacific Art Foundation, Newport Beach, Calif., Oct. 28-29, 2014.
Invited artist to show multiple pieces, POP Austin International Art Show and VIP reception, Oct. 17-19, 2014.
“Power & Glory,” commissioned by Shepard Fairey, appears in Fairey/Jasper Johns exhibit, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C., May 23-June 6, 2014.
Featured artist, Architectural Digest Home Show, New York City, March 20-23, 2014.
“Mechanical Bull” created for Kings of Leon album cover, 2013.
“Indian MotoCycles,” “Car and Trailer” and “Speed Shop” exhibited at Museum of Neon Art, LA, 2012.
“Crown”, commissioned for HGTV’s “Junk Gypsies” show, 2011.
“Fireflies in a Mason Jar” commissioned for Blak...