MEET THE ARTIST

(1969, Manila, Philippines)

 

Making his pieces from pure and creative impulses, Marco Y.Santos ( MYSAN)  describes himself as a “work in progress”.  Having had no formal education

in the Fine Arts, Santos’  work evokes the idea of Art for its own sake

and urges the viewer to renegotiate preconceived notions

of the craft and see only true undiluted expression.

 

Early artistic experimentation evolved from his restless imagination,

multi-faceted  interests, and  exposures to creatives.  it was the start of a journey

of self-discovery that followed a colorful path of destruction, failures, creation,

and redemption with no real turning points; or so it seemed to him.

He persisted, becoming more engaged in his materials and their possibilities.

It was precisely this self determination that liberated Santos pointing him

to a direction that has recently come to shine creating a personal universe

and the beginnings of his own visual vocabulary.

 

Indeed, setting things aflame seems to be his preferred method of expression – trading in the paintbrush for the torch – to fabricate intense and powerful 

awe-inspiring pieces that engage the viewer in their own private worlds.

 

Though he currently likes to work with glass, acrylic, wood and canvas,

he is not limited by these. His approach is one of curiosity and openness. 

Santos tackles his work with a rare purity that allows the various media he works with, to inform the process. They give voice to his concepts and stories.

When he torches glass, he knows there is a high chance of failure,

“if there are cracks in my work, I follow the cracks and let my medium’s unique characteristic flow through my hands.”

So that the results are deconstructed to the point where meaning is shifted

and possible interpretations becomes enjoyable.

 

“The aesthetic focus of my work hinges mainly on the concepts of balance/imbalance, symmetry/asymmetry, construction/ deconstruction, materiality/immateriality;

hence my works may not immediately reference recognizable forms. 

Instead, they are meant to make the viewers create their own narratives

and interpretations.”  -  MYSAN 

 

Santos is unstoppable and is constantly pushing boundaries of his various media.

Sometimes being unregimented by formal art schooling is its own reward.

Santos suggests a way forward by creating, creating and creating, on his own terms.

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