Justin Santora
Justin Santora grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in printmaking and secondary education in 2008. He is known for creating simple-seeming scenes in soothing color palettes with clever, often ironic titles.
Santora creates both gig posters and art prints, sometimes using the same imagery for both. While the intention is different for the two, his process remains similar. Both his interpretation of musical themes, and observations of the world around him, involve carefully choosing images and colors to let the viewer in to his mind. We see both the music or the world around him through his senses.
Santora’s interests in social movements like environmentalism and animal rights help inform both the imagery in his prints, as well as their titles. His work often includes themes of catastrophe (floods, tornados), decay, and rebirth (the sprouting of new trees). The monochromatic color palette lends a soothing, dream-like quality to his work.
Santora’s interest in architectural structures is clear, as is his fascination for how everything manmade will eventually be broken down by the natural world around it if it is left untouched for long enough. His images evoke both a nostalgia for the old worlds of our childhood and hope for our future.
In addition to gig posters and art prints, Santora has created images for skateboard decks, album covers, t shirts, and even beer labels. He has created posters for Trey Anastasio Band, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, James Blake, and more. Santora has exhibited his work all over the world.
