Luca Santana (b. 1999, California; lives and works in New York) is a nonbinary painter working with oil, raw canvas, and charcoal to examine decaying histories, control, and devotion. Their practice is influenced by Mexican/Irish-Catholic family archives, transfigurement, animation, and the objectifying gaze. Santana’s work ruminates on one’s capacity to metabolize narratives of sexual violence into opportunities for devotion and rapture.
Santana holds a BA in Studio Arts from Bard College, NY, and studied at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg, DE. Their work has been exhibited at Gallery ATARAH, Brooklyn, NY; SFA Projects, New York, NY; Russell Janis Projects, Brooklyn, NY; Bard College Exhibition Center, Red Hook, NY; Avery Arts Center, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL; Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA; Davis Orton Gallery, Hudson, NY; and Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA. Santana also works as a graphic designer. Their practice is rooted in conceptual exploration, technical craft, and experimentation. Their work includes websites, design systems, and visual identities.
Design Portfolio
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