Marco Santini, originally from Cresskill, New Jersey, is an artist known for using words to create art that tells stories and connects people.
In 2018, he lived in Manhattan, worked from his home studio, and created murals and live paintings filled with words of affirmation; that same year, he designed the cover for (201) Magazine’s 15th-anniversary issue.
As his career progressed, Santini noticed a shift and realized that most of his recent projects—seven out of ten—were not in New York City.
This led him to understand that his creativity was not tied to a location but to a mindset.
In late 2020, he married Cheri-Ann Rodgers, a yoga instructor at Humble Yoga in Closter, and a year later, they had a child before moving to River Vale in 2022.
Throughout this time, Santini’s focus remained on creating art that connects people. He made artwork for well-known figures, including Ringo Starr from The Beatles, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and actor Matthew Morrison from Glee, who asked Santini to create a piece based on his child’s ultrasound image.
- Bergen artist Marco Santini painted live at the United Nations in 2019; his artwork was sent to over 100 countries by the Red Cross.
- He sold NFTs for $35,000 and $40,000 on MakersPlace and partnered with Bitcoin Magazine, which displays his mural in its Nashville museum.
- Santini created a style called “Illuminism” by cutting signed books into layered 3D art, showing the spirit of iconic artists.
Live Painting at the UN for Geneva Conventions Anniversary
One of Santini’s most important achievements took place on September 23, 2019, when the United Nations marked the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, which define the proper treatment of civilians and soldiers during wartime.
For this event, Santini was invited by the International Committee of the Red Cross to create a live painting in front of 200 to 300 delegates at the UN General Assembly.
Before he could begin, UN security took more than an hour to inspect his materials, especially his aluminum easel, to ensure it wasn’t something dangerous.
Once cleared, Santini spent several hours listening to speeches translated into English, and using his iPhone Notes app, he sorted key words such as “community” and “trust” alphabetically before writing them with markers onto a 30-inch-by-30-inch canvas.
The Red Cross purchased the completed artwork and selected it as the image for its 2019 holiday card, which was sent to over 100 countries. Santini later said this was the most important moment of his career.
Developing a New Art Style Called “Illuminism”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Santini’s usual interactive work was paused, so he used this time to read biographies of artists like Picasso and Keith Haring.
He observed that these artists created new styles and were often criticized for them at first, and inspired by their innovation, Santini decided to create a new style of his own.
He began collecting books—including rare, signed editions—written by or about these famous artists. He cut the books into pieces, keeping the binding and signatures intact, and then used the parts to build 3D, layered images.
He called this method “Illuminism,” explaining that it shines a light on the soul of the artist and continued his practice of using words and symbols to create meaningful visual art.
Selling Digital Art NFTs for $35,000 and $40,000 Each
In 2022, Santini entered the digital art space by selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on the MakersPlace platform. His first series was a success, as two NFTs sold for $35,000 and $40,000—the highest earnings of his career at that point.
In 2023, after being invited by MakersPlace to an afterparty at the Art Basel fair in Miami, Santini met curators organizing a digital auction at Sotheby’s and was later included in a one-week digital auction featuring about 20 artists.
What normally took a month to prepare, he completed in one and a half weeks.
His featured work was titled Illuminated: Bitcoin Magazine Issue #1, and for this piece, Santini cut up the first issue of Bitcoin Magazine, created a layered design, photographed the layers, and enhanced them using Photoshop and Illustrator.
He added a digital background, flashing lights, animation, and moving words, and the final product was sold as an NFT to the Bitcoin Magazine team, who also received the framed physical artwork.
Later, Santini painted a large mural for them, which is now displayed at the Bitcoin Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.
Awards, Education, Celebrity Collectors, and Media Features
Santini has received multiple awards. In 2017, he won the 1st Place Impact Award at Flywheel Gallery in Piermont, New York.
He was a finalist for the CFA Artist of the Year Award in both 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. In 2022, he was recognized at the India Inclusion Summit’s 10th anniversary and was named one of the Scout Guide’s Top 25 Artists to Watch in the United States.
Santini graduated from Brown University in 2007 with a degree in Linguistic Anthropology, and his understanding of language directly influences his artwork, which often centers on words, meaning, and connection.
His pieces are permanently displayed at the Museum of Art and Photography in Bangalore, India.
In addition to his celebrity collectors—Ringo Starr, Chris Martin, Matthew Morrison, Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, and former NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer—Santini has partnered with Bloomingdale’s for over 20 art events across the U.S.
His work has been featured in major media outlets, including The New York Times, Forbes, New York Post, Time Out New York, Chicago Tribune, and Maxim Magazine, during events like Art Basel Miami, Burning Man, SXSW, and Montreal’s Mural Festival.
