Heliodro "Helio" Santos

Mexican

1984

Heliodro Santos is a Mexican artist whose practice bridges traditional painting and cutting-edge technology, using machine learning and computer vision to explore the complex relationship between humans, nature, and machines through landscapes. His work blends organic and synthetic elements, inviting reflection on environmental and social realities within an evolving techno-natural ecosystem.

Helio Santos. Photo courtesy the artist.

Full Bio

Heliodro (Helio) Santos is a Mexican artist and researcher whose journey began with painting and evolved into a deep engagement with data, internet culture, and technology. Rooted in traditional art and driven by curiosity, Helio has merged his background in painting and digital media with cutting-edge creative coding and AI. His work reflects a constant exploration of the relationship between humans, nature, and machines, using landscapes as a powerful lens to investigate this dynamic.

At the heart of his practice is the idea that technology is more than just a tool, it is an extension of our bodies and minds. By blending machine learning, computer vision, and custom algorithms with his artistic vision, he creates layered works that question how machines perceive the natural world and how that perception intersects with human experience. His process often involves deconstructing images at the pixel level to build new visual narratives that challenge and expand traditional ways of seeing. Drawing inspiration from abstract painting, sound art, and generative art, Helio’s pieces navigate the tension between the organic and the synthetic while reflecting on environmental and social realities embedded in landscapes.

Helio’s work has been shown widely across the globe, from Mexico City and Tokyo to New York, London, and Paris, at exhibitions such as “La máquina controladora del universo” in Mexico, “Unbound Ecology in the Machine Age” in London, The NFT Biennial in Tokyo, and the Asia Digital Art Award in Mexico City. Whether through digital or physical forms, his art completes a cycle that bridges technology and tradition, inviting viewers to reconsider our place within an ever-evolving ecosystem of human and machine.