africanah.org

Arena for Contemporary African, African-American and Caribbean Art

Curtis Talwst Santiago

Curtis_Santiago_2017_Uncle-1-810x1024

 

Curtis Talwst Santiago: Drawings, until August 26, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronta

Uncle, 2017.

 

 

 

About:

More recently, Santiago has introduced drawing into his practice. Using paper and rocks as his surface, these works consider more directly the connection between the artist and his ancestors, and will be shown for the first time in this exhibition. The drawings were made as a current artist-in-residence at Pioneer Works, Brooklyn and from his studies at the New York Studio School, wherein Santiago stretched his artistic inquiries. The series depicts contemporary figures that aesthetically conjure the past, echoing the gestures and processes of art history’s masters before him.

Curtis_Santiago_2017_Sporting_Life-565x1024

Sporting Life, 2017.

Santiago’s own experience of growing up in Trinidadian household against the backdrop of Canada holds weight within the context of his practice. Santiago’s interest in storytelling, in particular narratives from African and Caribbean culture, comes alive in his practice, which aims to animate and reinsert these silenced histories into contemporary art and history.

Curtis_Santiago_2017_Colin_Kaepernick-565x1024

Colin Kaepernick, 2017.

Curtis_Santiago_2017_Whoonga-also-known-as-nyaope-or-wunga-785x1024

Whoonga also known as nyaope or wunga, 2017

Curtis Talwst Santiago is a Canadian-Trinidadian artist currently working Brooklyn. He is a former apprentice of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, and has exhibited internationally in solo and group shows including at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Hunter College, Savannah College of Art and Design, Fortnight Institute and the Art Gallery of Mississauga. A current artist-in-residence at Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, Santiago will participate in a residency with Gallery MOMO (Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa) in 2017. He will also be included in an upcoming show at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

See also: https://africanah.org/talwst/