Vibrant, crowded scenes filled with quirky characters and objects juxtapose mundane and futile details of subcultures, trends, and environments. These are the elements Nick Santoro encounters as an artist and arts worker. Through painting, drawing, and installation, Santoro examines these strange aspects of everyday life, mashing together disparate references to people and places.

Born in 1994, Santoro lives and works in Wollongong on Dharawal Country. He brings an intriguing blend of personal experience and cultural commentary, reflecting his multifaceted background as an artist and punk musician. Self-taught techniques and Santoro’s training in printmaking and drawing informs his approach to painting. It is this mash-up of absurd and banal, pop culture and suburbia, that allows him to capture elements of Australian society with deft humour and insight—a playful antidote to real-world happenings. Whether satirical or mocking, his humour adds a layer of facetiousness to his social observations.

Observation is a key component of his practice. Santoro often includes non-descript, ambiguous figures generated from found images, sketches, memory, and imagination. He gathers information from everyday encounters, conversations, and environments—eclectic source material resulting in unique and vibrant compositions. This intuitive process involves a significant element of chance, and adds to the dynamic and spontaneous nature of his art. He captures flat, crowded picture planes in acrylic paint, continuously revising his work as an invitation to contemplate the ongoing narratives within his peculiar, detailed compositions.

In 2017, Santoro completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at UNSW Art & Design, majoring in drawing and printmaking. Since then, he has exhibited in numerous group and solo shows across New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, including notable venues such as AirSpace Projects, Wellington Street Projects, Good Space, Gaffa, Ambush, Kudos Gallery, Yellow House, Wollongong Art Gallery, Grafton Regional Gallery, and Carriageworks for Sydney Contemporary. He held a solo show at Edwina Corlette Gallery in 2017 and exhibited at the Melbourne Art Fair in 2022.

Santoro’s work has received significant recognition. He has been a finalist in the Kilgour Prize, Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship (2017, 2018), The Churchie National Emerging Art Prize, and the Sulman Prize in 2019 and 2023. Most notably, he was a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2020, and is a current finalist in this year’s Sulman Prize, 2024.