F. Joseph Santori

- Modern Surrealist, Musician and Composer

F. Joseph Santori aka. Joseph Santori, Joey Santori, Joe Santori, or Jo-E Santori is a contemporary surrealist painter who combines graffiti style stencils and abstract painting techniques to create surreal landscapes and dreamy subject matter. Painter, touring and recording musician and songwriter, editorial photographer, animator, art director, teacher, and illustrator F. Joseph Santori currently lives and creates modern surrealism in Austin, Texas. He is originally from the small central Georgia town of Milledgeville. Milledgeville's claims to fame are that it was where writer Flannery O'Conner spent most of her life and it also is home to one of the largest facilities for the mentally insane on the East Coast. Fortunately, there is a small state college there, so culture did have an avenue upon which to make it's way into Santori's path.

College in Milledgeville didn't seem to suit his life pursuits as one might have hoped, but options were available. In 1988 he moved to Athens, Ga. to pursue music.

After living in Athens, Ga during his "formative" late teens to early twenties, he moved to Austin in 1992. Since his arrival, his music and art have carried him around the world whether it be recording, touring, exhibiting, teaching or simply gaining inspiration. As a digital artist and animator he has worked as a key animator of the "Bob Arcter" character (portrayed by Keanu Reeves) in the animated motion picture, "A Scanner Darkly," he has worked in every aspect of animated cinematics for video games (from conception, art direction, direction, production of story boards, character creation, set creation, lighting, special effects, editing and treatment) and has even animated music videos for Warner Brothers. He has taught design concepts, digital art production technique and project management in Saigon, been a consultant to Sony Online Interactive and has entered the advertising and marketing realm as a Director of Product Development and Interactive Director. His work on canvas and wood has been exhibited in Athens, Georgia, Los Angeles, California. and is frequently exhibited in Austin, Texas.

Not limiting himself, he possesses several vastly unique and exquisite styles of artwork that range from highly detailed surrealism in oil and or acrylics, to abstract works using wood, masonite, industrial adhesives, and tar. His more recent work displays his use of intricately detailed stencils he creates from his photographs, thus marrying his digital and analog artforms.

As a local musician, he composes, records, and performs live electronic music playing bass, sarod and cello with several acts in Austin but most notably he performs as a multi-instrumentalist with the Oliver Rajamani Ensemble. He can be caught performing or recording with many other recognizable Austin musicians among the likes of the Ultraviolet Catastrophe with internationally acclaimed author of "Discipline" Paco Ahlgren, The Burned, Tehranosaurus, David Garza, Laura Scarborough, and many others.