Today we’d like to introduce you to Cesar Santos.
Hi Cesar, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story is one of internal struggle meeting external harmony.
I was born in Cuba and spent my childhood during the Special Period of the 1990s. For the first twelve years of my life, we lived in extreme poverty. We had no running water, so we carried buckets from a well to a large tank on our second-floor balcony. Electricity was unreliable, and long dark nights became fertile ground for imagination. Drawing and painting became my escape, a way to transform reality into something more beautiful and meaningful.
When I immigrated to the United States in middle school, art remained my constant companion. I attended art schools in search of my own artistic voice, while also becoming fascinated by the challenge of making a living through painting. I wanted not only to participate in culture, but to contribute to it.
From 2006 to 2021, my work focused primarily on portraiture and the human figure. I was interested in capturing the character, presence, and psychological life of my subjects. Then, after extending my studio from Miami to Florence, Italy, something shifted. Surrounded by a different culture and a deeper connection to the history of art, the reality I thought I knew began to dissolve. The classical aesthetics I admired started transforming into increasingly abstract and psychological forms. As the subject disappeared, my approach to paint itself became liberated. For four years, I explored abstraction as a way of understanding perception, memory, and consciousness.
Then, quite unexpectedly, a new vision emerged. I felt compelled to paint the world around me again, not as portraiture, but as observation. The canvas seemed to ask for contemporary stories. Today, my work focuses on the rituals, habits, and social performances that define modern life. Using a technique traditionally associated with grand historical subjects, I paint the ordinary theater of our time: the ways we construct identity, seek meaning, and relate to one another.
Having lived in very different cultures, from Cuba to the United States to Italy, art has been the thread connecting all of them. It has remained my way of making sense of the world. Through every change, painting has been a form of meditation, a practice of paying attention to the present through the language of color, light, and form
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t describe it as a particularly difficult road, to live is to have a will that never fades. I spent years developing technical skills, and later reinvented my work several times. Over the years, I realized that what we call struggle is often resistance to what is already happening. The moments that felt most difficult were usually the moments when I was trying to force reality to match my expectations. Art taught me that growth rarely follows the plans we make for it.
Each transition I’ve had in style came naturally. If there has been a recurring struggle, it has been learning to trust life as it unfolds rather than demanding that it unfold according to my preferences. I see that many obstacles are invitations to expand our understanding and grow. What once appeared to be setbacks often become the very experiences that shape the next stage of the journey. The road has been educational. Every challenge has eventually revealed itself as a teacher.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At the moment, I am creating oil paintings that examine contemporary life. My interest in rituals, habits, performance, and unconscious behavior has become the driving force behind my recent work. Once I have a clear idea of what I want to present, the paint application becomes increasingly gestural and intuitive.
I specialize in observation, in moments that are often overlooked, in the strange theater of everyday life. My background in portraiture, the human figure, and the history of painting helps these scenes feel observed rather than invented. I am interested in the small social rituals that quietly reveal who we are, how we form identity, and how we relate to one another.
Curiosity has always guided my aesthetics. When I begin seeing the world differently, I don’t hesitate to bring that change into the studio, even when it means abandoning successful directions; I have always preferred the excitement of reinvention to the comfort of protecting a style.
What sets artists apart is the unique path each of us has traveled. Every painting carries the weight of our experiences. Having lived in different cultures and moved through very different approaches to painting, I bring those influences together to preserve the fleeting customs, contradictions, and social theater of our life.
I see painting as a way of paying attention, and each painting as an opportunity to recognize ourselves in the world we are creating.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Leaving Cuba was probably the happiest moment of my life. After arriving in the United States, my family gave me the nickname “The Happy One,” and in many ways that feeling has never left me.
Having grown up during the Special Period in Cuba, I developed a deep appreciation for both freedom and human achievement. Nothing surpasses the beauty of nature, but there is also something inspiring about living in a society where people are free to create, build, and improve the world around them. Having experienced a deteriorated environment, I learned not to take those things for granted.
Today, happiness comes from simple moments when my mind and body feel aligned. Waking up naturally before sunrise, stretching and exercising, eating well, reading a good book, visiting a museum, looking at distant clouds over the Tuscan landscape, or thinking about a new painting. These small experiences often bring me more joy than extraordinary events.
As an artist, one of the happiest moments is creating something that resonates with another person. Painting has accompanied me through every stage of life, and knowing that a painting can bring reflection, beauty, or enjoyment to someone else is deeply rewarding.
Happiness seems to appear naturally when I am fully present to the world around me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://santocesar.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/santocesart?igsh=eWNzbHdhZ2lsbzlx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1JKTHkLjBT/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@santocesart?si=cXc3Wmr-0ZuN3SIG
