Antonio Santos

ANTONIO SANTOS (Lupiñén, Huesca, 1955).
Untitled.
Carved black marble.
Signed on the base.
In good condition, with slight surface scuffs.
Measurements: 34.5 x 21 x 14 cm.

This sculpture is particularly representative of Antonio Santos’s sculptural style, which focuses on direct carving and a deliberately synthetic figurative approach. The work also possesses an intriguing two-faced quality: each of its faces presents a distinct interpretation of the human face, constructed through geometric planes, almond-shaped eyes, sharply defined noses, and surfaces that alternate between polished and bush-hammered finishes.

The rounded form is a hallmark of the deep incisions of the features, while the polished stone intensifies the play of light on the dark surface. Santos has frequently worked with stone sculpture and, in particular, black Calatorao marble, a material with which he has created numerous figures with a strong totemic presence and an archaic appearance.

Antonio Santos is a sculptor, painter, printmaker, and illustrator. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, specializing in sculpture, and has been exhibiting his work regularly since 1976. His career combines visual art with illustration, a field in which he received the Second National Illustration Prize in 2004; he has presented institutional exhibitions such as *The Art of Play* at the Quintanar Palace in Segovia and *The Craft of Illustration* at the University of Zaragoza.