Biography

Bill Santelli’s work has been widely exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States, including M.A.D.S Contemporary Gallery, Milan, IT; Oxford Gallery, and the Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL; Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ; Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA; Redline Arts Center, Denver, CO; University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI; and Purdue University Galleries, Lafayette, IN. In addition, his work is in the collections of Google, NYC, NY; Simon School of Business, UR, Rochester, NY; Maxtor Corporation, Denver, CO; MedImmune, Inc., Gaithersburg, VA; Hale and Dorr, Boston, MA; and Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, VA. Bill is the recipient of awards and honors including the Distinguished Alumni Award (2004), FLCC, Canandaigua, NY; and tresidency fellowships to the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT.


Statement:

I am motivated toward self-expression. I believe making art is a journey of self-discovery, and a constant attempt to define one's own vision of the world. I do not look outside my-self for meaning, but instead express that which is most meaningful within. My minds eye never sleeps. I paint the abstract language of colors, forms and shapes that my inner eye visualizes, using bold colors to provoke a feeling or sensation that engages the viewer in an emotional exchange with the work. My paintings personify the defining movements of twentieth century art, geometric abstraction and surrealism. The paintings at times ex-pose the subconscious landscape of the mind. At other times, the canvas reveals the painted surface as the essential intention of the painting. I'm an expressionist painter and I approach the canvas directly. Many of my paintings integrate large geometric shapes defined by bold color combinations, in a subconscious universe where past and present exist simultaneously. I use an intensive application process which involves blending and layering acrylic colors and mediums on canvas. My paintings sometimes look airbrushed, but they are not. I achieve the effect by using Chinese goat hair brush-es, made of soft, short bristles, that leave no visible brushstrokes. I layer images one upon another, each layer shows through the surface, providing suggestions of meaning, while at the same time obscuring the meanings of the forms superimposed upon them. These paintings take on a dimension all their own. My intentions are to challenge the viewer to interpret each painting in their own way and to stimulate the subconscious by allowing the painting to lead you through its path.