José L. Santos’ new work features large, three-dimensional relief sculptural paintings that reflect his Portuguese cultural roots. The pieces incorporate imagery such as rosary beads, family members, hearts, thorns, Portuguese crosses, and self-portraits, among others. Santos draws inspiration from his personal family history, using photographs to create realistic images that capture the generational evolution of his family—from a time when they lived off the land in Portugal to the contemporary emotions of pain, struggle, and success experienced by those now living in Massachusetts.
Join us for an Opening Reception on Thursday August 14th, 2025, free and open to the public.
In addition, join the Multicultural Arts Center (MAC) and History Cambridge for a special History Café on Friday August 22, 2025, celebrating the many immigrant communities that have shaped East Cambridge across generations. Experience this powerful exhibition, Pressing Against the Thorns by Portuguese-American artist José L. Santos, whose work honors the daily lives, resilience, and cultural legacy of immigrant families including Portuguese from the Azores and mainland, Brazilians, Cape Verdeans, and beyond. We will explore how the stories of these immigrant communities are woven into East Cambridge’s vibrant tapestry.
Gallery Opening Reception
Thursday, August 14, 2025
6:00 – 8:00PM
Special Event: Saudade in the Squares
Friday, August 22, 2025
4:00 – 6:00PM
“My Portuguese-American ethnicity has been a source of inspiration. As a child and teenager, I was raised in the tight-knit Portuguese-American community of Ludlow, Massachusetts, spoke only Portuguese at home, and was influenced by the traditions that my parents brought from Portugal when they immigrated to the United States from the farming town of Evora, Alcobaça, in the 1950s. For me, art is autobiographical and no matter where my explorations take me as an artist, they are always firmly grounded in my cultural roots. This has taken many different forms over the years. At first, focusing on my ethnicity translated into realistic paintings of the people and places of my culture. Although this work was once exciting to me, when I look back at it now I feel it was narrowing my self expression. By painting realistically, I had begun to stereotype my culture, creating images that I thought others would like to see. More recently, my visual representations of my ethnicity have been less literal, less concrete, but the ethnic influence is always there, in the symbols, colors and materials, and in the process of creating the artwork itself. The process of creation has become more intrinsic rather than extrinsic.” — José L. Santos
