BIO
Santiago Pina (b. 1998) is a contemporary painter whose work explores the human figure as a site of cognitive tension. Working primarily with oil on canvas, his paintings examine moments in which identity, perception and the body begin to fracture, revealing the instability of the contemporary subject. Faces dissolve, bodies fragment and gestures remain suspended, suggesting states of mental divergence rather than fixed identities. Pina’s practice is grounded in an ongoing investigation of perception, consciousness and the limits of representation. His figures do not function as portraits, but as psychological constructions, embodiments of internal processes shaped by visual overload, cognitive dissonance and the erosion of stable selfhood in the 21st century. Through a restrained yet expressive painterly language, his work resists immediacy and demands slow, contemplative viewing. The paintings operate in a liminal space between figuration and abstraction, where recognition collapses and perception becomes uncertain.
CV
Born in 1998 in Zaragoza, Spain
Resides and works in Zaragoza, Spain
EDUCATION
2019 - 2021: Drawing and Painting Program, Barcelona Academy of Art, Barcelona, Spain
2016 - 2018: Degree in illustration, Zaragoza School of Arts, Zaragoza, Spain
2014 - 2016: Artistic Bachelor, Zaragoza School of Arts, Zaragoza, Spain
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025, Praeteritum, MEAM Museum, Barcelona, Spain
2022, Nightlife experiences, Vhycolino gallery, Madrid, Spain
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025, Something more than realism XIX, Aragonese Artistic Group, Zaragoza, Spain
2024, Modportrait, Reial Cercle Artístic, Barcelona, Spain
2024, Realism now, MEAM Museum, Barcelona, Spain
2024, Qualia: Vesperi, MEAM Museum, Barcelona
2023, Figurativas, MEAM Museum, Barcelona, Spain
2023, Naked, Antiquarium, Sevilla, Spain
2023, Something more than realism XVII, Aragonese Artistic Group, Zaragoza, Spain
2022, Qualia: Raw Sensations, Palau Dalmases, Barcelona, Spain
2022, Modportrait, MEAM Museum, Barcelona
2021, Look out, Punt de Vistes gallery, Barcelona, Spain
2019, XXX Santa Isabel de Aragón, Palace of the Counts of Sástago, Zaragoza, Spain
AWARDS
2024, ModPortrait (honorable mention and Artemiranda award winner), Zaragoza, Spain
2023, Figurativas (honorable mention), Barcelona, Spain
2023, ModPortrait (selected), Zaragoza, Spain
2022, ModPortrait (honorable mention and Sheng Xinyu Art honorable mention), Zaragoza, Spain
2021, ModPortrait (selected), Zaragoza, Spain
2020, BAA Quarantine Self-Portrait Competition (winner), Barcelona, Spain
2019, XXX Santa Isabel de Aragón (selected), Zaragoza, Spain
SELECTED PRESS
“Exclusive interview with Santi Pina”, The Guide Artists Blog (2025)
“New artists, new era”, The Guide Artists Blog (2025)
“Symphony of the End”, The Guide Artists Magazine - Issue 79 (2025)
“Santi Pina: Intuition and Mastery”, The Guide Artists Blog (2025)
“Santi Pina x The Guide Artists: PRAETERITUM”, MEAM Museum (2025)
Mariano García, “Santi Pina, a your artist conquers Barcelona”, Heraldo de Aragón (2025)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Santi Pina, The Guide Artists Publishing, 2025
The Guide Artists Magazine - Issue 79, The Guide Artists Publishing, 2025