"Título"
Gallery & Studio
May, 2005

"Spanish Cultural Project"
Kaitlin Buckley
May 7, 2007

Santiago Zarzosa is a European artist who grew up in Spain. For ten years he lived in the Valladolid (Castilla plains) where he was born until his family moved to Murcia (the Mediterranean.)  As a child he enjoyed activities outdoors, such as fishing and soccer, and always had an appreciation for the colors around him from the bright colors of the fruit trees to the emerald blues of the Mediterranean Sea.  His favorite activity in Murcia was going to art exhibits which he did weekly.  He would go alone and get lost in his imagination.  To build on his interest Santiago attended two years of technical drawing and three years of art painting. Besides practicing drawing and painting he learned from visiting art galleries and museums throughout Europe. Some of his favorites were in Spain, France, and Italy.

After living in the Mediterranean for thirteen years Santiago moved to Madrid to study; this is where most of his family is originally from. He studied advance drawing classes from master Hakim Alsani.  Some of the famous Spanish masters who were of most influence to him include: El Greco, Velasquez, Goya, Murillo, Picasso, Dali, Tapies, and Barcelo.

In 1997 Zarzosa moved to the United States.  He continued to draw and paint but made a living in Advertising.  When he got married and had his son he left the advertising world and dedicated himself solely to his family and his passion for art. He currently works out of a studio in his home in New Hope during the nights and weekends while caring for his two year old son, Rafael, during the days.  Besides making art
Santiago is continuing to develop his skills by taking weekly classes, currently he is taking one at Macalaster to practice drawing people.

Santiago is not one to sit back and let life pass him by.  He continues to play soccer and he runs marathons, so far he has completed four.  His wife Julie works in fashion, which brings them to New York at least once every three months. They spend two weeks there at a time and Santiago uses this time to observe different surroundings and people while making sketches.  These sketches take him only about five minutes and he does not use an eraser; he later develops them into paintings which typically take him a few months to complete.  He enjoys painting scenes and people he sees in his travels.

Santiago has a lot of inspiration, not only other artists and their work but the entire world around him.  This is one reason he enjoys going to Europe, so that he can sketch new images and compile them into a new series of paintings. He paints with oils and acrylics.  When he composes paintings he typically makes a series of about twenty paintings which are linked by a theme.  Santiago is currently working on a series involving New York and Spain.

Of course anyone can appreciate art but we all do so in different ways because we interpret art differently.  Santiago conveys his conceptions of his works through titles and words which are often alongside his works.  For example one painting is titled “Expectations” and his description is “ ‘Haven’t been there, Haven’t done that’ Desiring something new or a new stage in life.  To have the ability to create as a woman creates during the most important moment of life.” This picture is of his wife pregnant.  However, she had not been pregnant yet but did become pregnant just four months following the completion of this painting.  One of my favorite of his works is “Speed of Blonde.”  This painting is of a blonde driving a motorcycle through New York.  The busyness of New York represents the busyness of life. He says it is one of his most popular and his description is: “I like objects that can give you the feeling of speed; that fast, rapid, urgent rush of life. This painting represents the things that entice me to live my everyday life to the fullest.  It is like a motorcycle ride. Joy in the face.”  Another one of his series includes animals jumping over hurtles.  Each painting is of a different animal, such as a sheep, frog, and iguana facing hurtles.  This represents different people facing similar problems in different ways.

Santiago’s work is used by many people for different purposes.  Some customers request a series focusing on their children or an object they value while businesses and schools request posters for advertising or large themed paintings to decorate an event.  In 2005 he had a series called “The Internal Life” focusing on “the inner thoughts which are universal for every human being” which was exhibited in Montserrat Gallery in New York City while more recently in January 2007 he had some of his paintings at the Flanders Gallery in Minneapolis.  He is very good at marketing not only his work but also himself because he puts so much into his pieces that you cannot only see it in his work but hear about his thoughts behind the art directly from him.

I came across Santiago on www.mnartists.org which is a link on the Walker Art Center website.  After I found out I missed his March showing I emailed him to ask if there was anywhere locally I could go to see his work.  He replied informing me that there is no where to see it currently but that he was working on a new series at thetime. After explaining my project for school he was very helpful in offering to give me information for my paper.  He invited me to visit his studio at his house.  When I was there we talked about how he got to where he is at in his career and he showed me his studio.  I got to see his sketch books, his studio filled with objects that inspire him from metals to quotes and works of art by others, some paintings he is currently working on, as well as many that are completed. When I was looking at his website I really enjoyed the bright colors he uses but seeing them in person I could appreciate them so much more because the textures can be seen and the colors are much more detailed and vibrant than can be realized through a computer screen.

Zarzosa loves his work and the continual learning process. He feels that “life is there for you to discover and that there is always a better painting to do: the next one.”  I really enjoyed meeting Santiago and seeing his work.  I feel this was a very unique opportunity.