CÉSAR SANTILLÁN

Style: Illustrator
Technique: Digital

A designer from Hidalgo and a proud graduate of EDINBA, César Santillán began his editorial career at Reforma newspaper. In academia, he has taught university-level courses in Typography and Editorial Design. Artistically, both his solo and group exhibitions have led him to be named one of the 50 most promising artists from his home state. His many awards have taken him to share his journey through conferences and talks.

He currently heads Santillan Design and serves as Art Director for Brasserie MERLIN in France.

Exhibitions

• Glaz Café, Nantes, France

• Gallery of the School of Design at the National Institute of Fine Arts, CDMX.

• J. Pilar Licona Gallery at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH).

• Víctor Manuel Ballesteros García Contemporary Art Gallery, UAEH.

• Historical Archive and Mining Museum, Pachuca, Hidalgo.

• Leo Acosta Gallery, Pachuca, Hidalgo.

Recognition

• Best Emerging Illustrator – The Snackable Content Awards, Paris, France.

• Winner – Official Poster Contest for the Feria Nacional de San Marcos, Mexico.

• Finalist – 17th International Poster Biennial in Mexico.

• Second Place – Invitemos a Leer Poster Contest, International Children’s and Youth Book Fair, Mexico.

• Winner – Libro Objeto Contest, International Children’s and Youth Book Fair, Mexico.

• Selected for the Contemporary Art Catalogue of Hidalgo.

Featured Work

• Cosmopolitan Magazine, New York, USA.

• Editorial ADN, Madrid, Spain.

• Brasserie Merlin, Penmarc’h, France.

• Disney UK, Hammersmith, London.

• Nike, Los Angeles, California.

• Special Edition of Wine, Hangar, Salzburg, Austria.

• Bombay Sapphire Gin, London.

• Rabbit Hole Whiskey, Kentucky, USA.

• Variety Magazine, Los Angeles, California.

• LM Magazine, Belgium.

• Editorial Kampa, Switzerland.

• Di Casa in Casa, Italy.

• Travel + Leisure, Mexico.

• Life and Style, Mexico.

• Expansión, Mexico.

Spotlight

His fresh, laid-back themes “evoke calm, peaceful emotions. What really draws you in are his clean, soft, and simple color palettes—like peeking into a quiet, private moment without intruding, with the freedom to just be.”

– DigitalArt Magazine, UK

César Santillán is an illustrator best known for his serene minimalist compositions. He’s fascinated by abstract takes on the human form, celebrating the resilience of the body through playful uses of geometry and color.

– Adobe Stock, Germany

The artist uses vector graphics to create images with striking clarity, where light and color play a key role—drawing the viewer’s eye toward those subtle details that give each piece its meaning.

– Picame Magazine, Italy

Exhibition Carrer

DLonngi ART Gallery, Mexico City, 2018
Zonamaco Art Exhibition, Mexico City, 2018
Vasconcelos Library, Vlady Central Museum, UACM, Mexico City, 2016
Mexico City Museum, 2015
Street Art MUJAM, Museum of Antique Mexican Toys, Mexico City, 2015.
Advanced studies in visual arts at the National School of Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving “La Esmeralda”, Mexico City.
Graduate of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
San Carlos Academy, Mexico City.
NEZAHUALCÓYOTL, 1982.

José Antonio Martínez De la Cruz, better known as JAMDELAC, held his first solo exhibition at the Casa de la Cultura Tonacalli in Iztapalapa, Mexico City in 1999, an experience that encouraged him to continue on that path. Thanks to this and his curiosity, he later joined various artistic experimentation workshops – Graphic Design, Sculpture, and Painting – at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Armed with his stencils, he combines ink, spray paint, and acrylic, as well as elements of Mexican popular culture, dazzling us with works full of textures that invite observation. He aims not only to represent symbols or icons but also to include hidden messages in his works, many of which can be visualized under ultraviolet light, or even through 3D glasses. His willingness to show his work from any perspective gifts us with multisensory pieces that also add a new perception to what Mexico represents. From Iztapalapa to the World, 1982