New York-based artist Antonio Santin has revealed a collection of decorative rugs, which are so realistic that it’s impossible to identify them as paintings. A fascinating twist embedded in these highly ornamental tapestries is the mysterious protruding figure, which gives the illusion of something hidden beneath the rug.
Almost every piece of the collection features a decorative mat, covered in complex floral arrangements and patterns, mimicking a weaved rug. Each painting is an outcome of thousands of paint stokes made by Antonio with thick oil paint to give a hyper-realistic depictions to his art work.
The concealed deception that depicts an object or a person hiding beneath, varies its shape in every painting, creating both attraction and confusion for the onlookers. The idea to give a mysterious touch to this collection originated from Antonio’s still-life photography. Antonio calls this series, ‘Figurative paintings without a figure’.
Antonio was born in Madrid, Spain in 1978, and got his Fine Arts degree from Universidad Complutense in 2005. He is currently exhibiting his collection at Marc Straus Gallery, New York, but you can always see rug paintings on his website.
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