Introduction
John Santerineross is an American photographer with a background in ceramics and painting. He is considered to be a "neo-symbolist", an artist that continues or reinterprets the 19th century art movement Symbolism. Like its predecessor, neo-symbolism focuses on the spiritual, the subconscious, and dreams. Santerineross’ unique style and content has inspired an entire new generation of artists; his complex aesthetic is derived from a combination of his exposure to Catholicism and Santeria and by his fascination with Greek mythology, world religions and iconography.
Born in 1955 in New York City, he lived most of this life in the north east and now works out of Athens, Georgia. He is known for his dark, erotic images and has been shown both nationally and internationally, from the Seattle Erotic Arts Festival to the Galleria de-Arte Moderna Contemporanea in Bondeno, Italy. His largest New York City show took place at KFMK Gallery in June 2006 showing 22 of his 28” x 32” photographic images. In 2010 he showed at Le Cabinet des Curieux in Paris, France and in Mondo Bizzarro Gallery in Rome Italy. John’s latest solo exhibition at Jinbochogarou Gallery in Tokyo, Japan features 24 of his images , making it his largest solo exhibition to date.
Throughout John’s artistic career, his refusal to be limited by any one medium has lead him to master multiple artistic disciplines; he has been a ceramist, sculptor, painter, and mixed media artist. He has recently delved into the world of moving images and has already directed several short art films. Currently, Santerineross is in the preproduction phase of an adaptation of an avante-garde short story entitled “Ningyoushi”.
Ceramics
Santerineross was a ceramist from 1979 to 1989, and received acclaim for his extremely large stoneware "canteens" as well as other works. He was shown in 12 major galleries, including Unlimited Gallery in NYC and Elaine Potter Gallery in San Francisco. Many of his pieces were airbrushed with intricate and colorful geometric designs, and were extremely well received in the press (as reported in the New York Times) and with collectors.
The end of the ceramics era was twofold. An earthquake in San Francisco destroyed a substantial portion of his work, and congruently a lime contamination in the clay body resulted in lime popping, which in turn ruined 80% of the pieces of his master's thesis.
Artfux
The next phase of evolution was Artfux, a guerilla art group of which Santerineross was a founding member. It, as well its offshoot Cicada Core of Artists, was active from 1989 to 1992. Artfux’ art pieces spoke out for freedom of expression, equality and made bold artistic statements against tobacco companies by altering large billboards advertising the sale of tobacco products. (The "truth" commercials, in which large anti-smoking installations are performed outside of major tobacco company headquarters, use almost identical techniques.) During this time, Santerineross was creating very large (8 to 10 ft) acrylic paintings as part of Artfux installation pieces. He began using photographic images from newspapers and other reference material within his paintings, but when he could not find the images he desired, he decided to pick up a camera himself.
Photography
Santerineross has been influenced and inspired by image-makers such as Irina Ionesco and Jan Saudek. He started taking photographs in 1994, and his first 5 years of work resulted in the 1999 release of his first book, Fruit of the Secret God. Published in a limited number and filled with the dark, erotic images that would become his signature, it is now a collector's item. His second book, Dream, was published in 2004 and serves as an exploration of John's dream imagery and iconography through the use of the photographic medium.
While all of his early photographs were all taken with a medium format Mamiya RB67, John now shoots digitally with a Nikon D7000.
Summary
John Santerineross’ artistic career is based on commitment, integrity, passion and dedication. He is an artist who does not like to be classified or categorized and prefers to let the viewer decide and define. This open-ness has allowed viewers to interpret his work in every manner imaginable. Hailed “the world’s leading Neo-symbolist artist” by PROFIFOTO, Germanys leading photography magazine, John has also been called an “artistic assassin who wants to artistically assassinate Christianity, especially Catholicism” in Bill Donohue’s newest book “Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America”, in which Santerineross is mentioned along with several other groundbreaking artists including Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Cindy Sherman.
Despite the wide range of responses to his art, John never elucidates his imagery for fear of limiting viewers’ personal interpretation. He is influenced by the early symbolists’ belief that “the creation of a mood is as important as the transmission of information; (it must also) seek to engage the entire mind and personality of the viewer by appealing to the viewer’s emotions and unconscious mind, as well as to their intellect”.
John Santerineross is an American photographer with a background in ceramics and painting. He is considered to be a "neo-symbolist", an artist that continues or reinterprets the 19th century art movement Symbolism. Like its predecessor, neo-symbolism focuses on the spiritual, the subconscious, and dreams. Santerineross’ unique style and content has inspired an entire new generation of artists; his complex aesthetic is derived from a combination of his exposure to Catholicism and Santeria and by his fascination with Greek mythology, world religions and iconography.
Born in 1955 in New York City, he lived most of this life in the north east and now works out of Athens, Georgia. He is known for his dark, erotic images and has been shown both nationally and internationally, from the Seattle Erotic Arts Festival to the Galleria de-Arte Moderna Contemporanea in Bondeno, Italy. His largest New York City show took place at KFMK Gallery in June 2006 showing 22 of his 28” x 32” photographic images. In 2010 he showed at Le Cabinet des Curieux in Paris, France and in Mondo Bizzarro Gallery in Rome Italy. John’s latest solo exhibition at Jinbochogarou Gallery in Tokyo, Japan features 24 of his images , making it his largest solo exhibition to date.
Throughout John’s artistic career, his refusal to be limited by any one medium has lead him to master multiple artistic disciplines; he has been a ceramist, sculptor, painter, and mixed media artist. He has recently delved into the world of moving images and has already directed several short art films. Currently, Santerineross is in the preproduction phase of an adaptation of an avante-garde short story entitled “Ningyoushi”.
Ceramics
Santerineross was a ceramist from 1979 to 1989, and received acclaim for his extremely large stoneware "canteens" as well as other works. He was shown in 12 major galleries, including Unlimited Gallery in NYC and Elaine Potter Gallery in San Francisco. Many of his pieces were airbrushed with intricate and colorful geometric designs, and were extremely well received in the press (as reported in the New York Times) and with collectors.
The end of the ceramics era was twofold. An earthquake in San Francisco destroyed a substantial portion of his work, and congruently a lime contamination in the clay body resulted in lime popping, which in turn ruined 80% of the pieces of his master's thesis.
Artfux
The next phase of evolution was Artfux, a guerilla art group of which Santerineross was a founding member. It, as well its offshoot Cicada Core of Artists, was active from 1989 to 1992. Artfux’ art pieces spoke out for freedom of expression, equality and made bold artistic statements against tobacco companies by altering large billboards advertising the sale of tobacco products. (The "truth" commercials, in which large anti-smoking installations are performed outside of major tobacco company headquarters, use almost identical techniques.) During this time, Santerineross was creating very large (8 to 10 ft) acrylic paintings as part of Artfux installation pieces. He began using photographic images from newspapers and other reference material within his paintings, but when he could not find the images he desired, he decided to pick up a camera himself.
Photography
Santerineross has been influenced and inspired by image-makers such as Irina Ionesco and Jan Saudek. He started taking photographs in 1994, and his first 5 years of work resulted in the 1999 release of his first book, Fruit of the Secret God. Published in a limited number and filled with the dark, erotic images that would become his signature, it is now a collector's item. His second book, Dream, was published in 2004 and serves as an exploration of John's dream imagery and iconography through the use of the photographic medium.
While all of his early photographs were all taken with a medium format Mamiya RB67, John now shoots digitally with a Nikon D7000.
Summary
John Santerineross’ artistic career is based on commitment, integrity, passion and dedication. He is an artist who does not like to be classified or categorized and prefers to let the viewer decide and define. This open-ness has allowed viewers to interpret his work in every manner imaginable. Hailed “the world’s leading Neo-symbolist artist” by PROFIFOTO, Germanys leading photography magazine, John has also been called an “artistic assassin who wants to artistically assassinate Christianity, especially Catholicism” in Bill Donohue’s newest book “Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America”, in which Santerineross is mentioned along with several other groundbreaking artists including Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Cindy Sherman.
Despite the wide range of responses to his art, John never elucidates his imagery for fear of limiting viewers’ personal interpretation. He is influenced by the early symbolists’ belief that “the creation of a mood is as important as the transmission of information; (it must also) seek to engage the entire mind and personality of the viewer by appealing to the viewer’s emotions and unconscious mind, as well as to their intellect”.