This week we welcome Nelson Host Santiago, a graffiti artist and painter born and raised in New York City in a Puerto Rican family. Nelson’s early love for art began when his uncle introduced him to comic books. Influenced by colorful images depicting various superheroes, he began drawing, sketching, and painting when he was just a child, producing his earliest works without any formal training. Shortly thereafter, Nelson became captivated by urban Hip-Hop culture and immersed himself in the world of graffiti. He began working under the moniker “Host One,” actively engaged in so-called”wildstyle” pieces, and street bombing on varied metropolitan “canvases”.
After taking a hiatus to focus on his family, Nelson reappeared on the art scene. He embraced live art as a new form of collective artistic expression. He has since participated in a variety of gallery shows and live painting events across New York City, New Jersey, Boston, Florida, Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. Nelson is also an active member of Escape Artist Collective and the Puerto Rican Institute for Development of the Arts (PRIDA).
In addition to his artistic engagements, Nelson revels in the process of encouraging art enthusiasts; he has been invited as a guest artist by Montefiore Medical Hospital in the Bronx to lead an art therapy workshop for young cancer patients. His most recent work has been with the Artists Creative Theater, teaching art classes to youth in Brooklyn. Nelson welcomes each and every opportunity to be an integral part of the effort to serve the community. Nelson’s artwork focuses on socioeconomic, political, and domestic violence within marginalized communities and the island of Puerto Rico.
“In the era of the Bronx burning and the crack epidemic for my family and I, survival was the priority. Art was the only thing that ever made sense. Art became an escape when food was short or when it was difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The energy that comes out of my artwork is all the unexpressed love I couldn’t tell my ancestors. It’s also for my people and for me. It’s my therapy. Art is a gift God gave to me so who am I to waste it,” he writes.
