On Saturday, September 13, 2025, Chicago based painter John Santoro gave an artist talk about his exhibition Mud Time and Sprites of Spring at Paul Thiebaud Gallery.
Artist Information
For Chicago based artist John Santoro, landscapes both local and far away provide the foundational inspiration for his paintings. However, instead of depicting the scene in front of him with literal precision, he filters it through the aesthetics of abstract expressionist strokes. The results are squarely on the side of his love for abstraction, with the paint thickly applied to give the canvas a highly textured, juicy surface. While the settings he chooses to paint are often not grand, he endeavors to make them feel so in his works, and succeeds admirably in his efforts.
John Santoro holds a BA from Northern Illinois University and an MFA from the University of Chicago. His works have been exhibited nationally and can be found in numerous private collections.