BIOGRAPHY
The Journey of an Artist and a Curator;
In 2020, when the world came to a standstill, two lives quietly intertwined inside an art center in Manhattan, New York. Shane Townley, the Art Center Director, and Yeslin Cabrera Santos, head of the Curation Department, were both navigating the uncertainty of a city transformed by the pandemic. The bustling streets that once inspired them as artists had fallen silent—New York was no longer the place to be.
One afternoon, amid the chaos, Shane told Yeslin he was leaving the city for California. She looked at him with hesitation, her eyes revealing both fear and hope. Shane simply said, “Let’s go.” With friends waiting for her in California and nowhere left untouched by change, she agreed.
They packed what little they could and drove across the country—four long days on open highways that turned into something neither expected. Somewhere between the New Mexico desert and the California border, the professional bond between an artist and a curator evolved into something far deeper.
Six cross-country trips later, their shared love for art and each other culminated in marriage in December 2020.
Today, the couple continues to build a creative legacy together. In Orange County, Shane’s paintings are exhibited at LagunaART.com Gallery, where Yeslin curates bold, contemporary exhibitions. Together they founded the Alien Robot Museum in Joshua Tree—a conceptual fusion of art, technology, and social commentary inspired by the public’s growing fascination with AI and the modern cultural “machine.”
By 2023, their hearts were set on the desert. They purchased land in Joshua Tree to build their home and studio, envisioned as an immersive destination for artists and visitors from around the world. While building the couple also fell in love with a 1959 midcentury home they affectionately call “The Smart Home.” After a complete renovation, it now blends retro desert charm with modern innovation—serving as both a private retreat and a unique visitor experience for art lovers seeking creative inspiration under the stars.
From Manhattan’s concrete jungle to the golden silence of the Mojave, Shane and Yeslin’s story is one of courage, creativity, and connection—a love born from art in the middle of a global storm.
Their journey is now being adapted into a forthcoming book and film, capturing how an artist and a New York Curator turned uncertainty into opportunity and built an entirely new world—together.
Check out THE BOOK =>
ARTISTA " The Art Of Survival"
Two people's story is now captured in the forthcoming book Artista: The Art of Survival—written before the current administration but foretelling the social and political unrest unfolding in the U.S. today. The narrative follows an artist and curator whose lives become entwined in the turbulence of a nation divided, from the borderlands of New Mexico to the towers of New York and the vast openness of Joshua Tree, California.
Learn More > ARTISTA " The Art Of Survival"
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Artist Biography:
Shane Townley (b. 1972, Ithaca, NY) is a contemporary artist whose work explores themes of global warming and the psychological impact of technology on youth. A lifelong artist, he sold his first painting at the age of 12 and has pursued creative expression ever since. He attended Platt College in Costa Mesa and began his professional career in graphic design before transitioning fully into fine art.
Townley has established two art centers on both coasts, opened eight galleries, and launched major online platforms including NewYorkART.com and LagunaART.com. His bold, thought-provoking paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries nationwide, recognized for blending vivid imagery with pressing social and environmental commentary.
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Exhibitions (1991-present)
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1994 – Platt School of Art and Design (Costa Mesa)
1998 – Worked for a newspaper in Upstate New York (Syracuse)
1999 – Commercial Graphic Designer Upstate New York (Syracuse)
2004 – 2007, Gallery 104, Solo and group show exhibitions
(104 South Ola Vista, San Clemente, Ca)
2004 – San Clemente Art Festival
2005 – San Diego Art Walk Festival
2006 – Beverly Hills Arts Association Juried Show
2007 – Gallery 104 (144 Ave. Del Mar)
2007 – Lu Martin Galleries – Laguna Beach, Ca
2007 – Gallery La La – Laguna Beach, Ca
2007 – Dana Point Art Festival Juried Show
2008 – Solo Exhibition – Townley Fine Art – Cress Street, Laguna Beach, Ca
2008 – Coast Gallery – San Juan Capistrano, Ca
2008 – Cove Gallery – Laguna Beach, Ca
2008 – Lu Martin Galleries – Laguna Beach, Ca
2008 – Sawdust Art Festival – Laguna Beach, Ca
2009 – Solo Exhibition – Townley Fine Art – Cress Street, Laguna Beach, Ca
2009 – Beverly Hills Art Association Juried Show
2009 – San Diego Art Walk Festival
2009 – Solo Exhibition – Townley gallery – Laguna Beach, Ca
2009 – Sawdust Art Festival – Laguna Beach, Ca
2009 – Laguna Beach Art Association Main Beach
2010 – Sawdust Art Festival – Laguna Beach, Ca
2010 – Solo Exhibition – Townley gallery – Laguna Beach, Ca
2010 – Beverly Hills Art Association Juried Show
2010 – Palm Springs Arts Association Juried Show
2010 – Scottsdale Arizona Art Association Group Juried Show
2010 – Gallery Surface Solo Exhibition, Laguna Beach, Ca
2011 – Calabasas Art Association Juried show
2011 – Sawdust Art Festival Laguna Beach, Ca
2011 – Townley Gallery Solo Exhibition Laguna Beach, Ca
2011 – San Diego Art Walk Festival
2011 – Malibu Art Association Festival
2011 – Palm Desert Arts Association Juried Show
2012 – Calabasas Art Association Juried Show
2012 – Townley gallery Solo Exhibition
2012 – Beverly Hills Art Association Juried Show
2012 – San Diego Art Walk Festival
2012 – Solo Exhibition LGOCA – Laguna gallery of Contemporary Art – Laguna Beach, Ca
2013 – Beverly Hills Art Association Festival
2013 – Townley gallery Solo Exhibition – Laguna Beach, Ca
2013 – LGOCA – Laguna Gallery of Contemporary Art – Laguna Beach, Ca
2013 – Calabasas Art Association Juried Show
2014 – DeBilzan Gallery – Laguna Beach, Ca
2014 – Group Show Townley Gallery – Laguna Beach, Ca
2014 – Monterey Art Association Festival
2014 – Beverly Hills Art Association Festival
2014 – San Diego Art Walk Festival (April)
2015 – Townley gallery Group Show, Laguna Beach, Ca
2015 – Java Projects, Brooklyn, NYC (3 months)
2015 - Pleiades Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
2015 - Townley | Olsen Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2015 - Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ (1 Year show)
2015 - Art Fair, Art Basel, Miami, FL
2016 – San Diego Art Walk Festival (April)
2016 - Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ (Open Studio April)
2016 - Pleiades Gallery, Chelsea, NY (Group Show March)
2016 - Townley Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA (Solo Exhibition April)
2016 - Townley Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA (Group Show Exhibition August)
2016 - Georges Berges Gallery, SoHo, New York (September 8 2016)
2016 - Art at the Arboretum Benefit, Wayne New Jersey (9/24-25)
2016 - Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ (Andy Warhol and Johan Wahlstrom Sept. 25th)
2017 - Casa Romantica, San Clemente, CA (Solo Exhibition)
2018 - Tulum Mexico, artist retreat and studio residency (National Emergency series)
2019 -2020 - New York Art Center, Newyorkart.com, TriBeCa, New York
2020 - San Clemente Studio, and release of 100 originals
2020 - Solo Exhibition, LagunaART.com gallery, Laguna Beach
2021 - Honeoye Falls, New York “the old Mill” studio project
2021 - LagunaART.com art center, Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo, CA
2022 - Canandaigua Lake, NY, Studio
2023 - Joshua Tree Townley Studio, Joshua Tree, CA
2024 - Market Market, Solo Exhibition, Modernism Week, Palm Springs, CA
CURRENT
2021 - Ongoing | LagunaART.com, Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo, CA
2022 - Ongoing | Joshua Tree Art Museum
2024 Sept 15 - Oct 15 | Beatnik Lounge, Joshua Tree, CA, 6 Artist Group Show
2024 Oct 1 - Oct 22 | Hwy 62 Collective Show, Hi-Desert Artists gallery, Yucca Valley, CA
2024 October, 1st 3 Weekends in October 2024, Open Studios, Joshua Tree, CA
2025 - The ARM alien robot museum, Joshua Tree
2025 - LagunaART.com gallery, Orange County
2025 - Hwy 62 Open Studios, October, Joshua Tree
2025 - New York Art Center - newyorkart.com, New York, NY
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"A New Surrealism" Shane Townley Art Work review by C. Daniels
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The artwork of Shane Townley is not what it seems. Or perhaps, it is exactly what it seems. Sly and enigmatic, his paintings are a blend of riddles and unanswered questions. Is it a simple landscape? Or is it a careful prompt to deeper questions and a greater understanding of our surroundings?
At first glance, the elements in much of Townley’s work are easy to recognize: a calm sky, a peaceful expanse, and a line of trees not too far in the distance. Sometimes, he shows us a road or a path—sometimes, he does not. The colors are soothing yet dripping with emotion and paint. The composition is familiar, and peaceful in its predictability. But there is more here—much more. Like the “kitchen” poems of the late Jane Kenyon and John Updike’s urban wastelands, Townley’s peaceful mindscapes are anything but peaceful.
In Townley’s exquisite work, we sense the chaos beneath the surface. The open expanse leading toward the trees is a mirage, a false hope, an unrealistic expectation that distracts us from the pain and difficulty of existence—symbolized in that long, slow walk. But the trees are the most telling. Arranged in a synchrony of balanced meditation, they, are an illusion—an idealized endpoint to life’s challenging frontier. Is there another side? Can we simply step through the gaps between these verdant actors? No. Endings are painful and ruinous. And the journey to the other side is never what we expect, dream, or hope to be.
It is this inherent deception that nudges Townley’s work toward surrealism. He presents the fantastic clothed in the realistic. Unlike Salvador Dalí—a favorite of Townley’s—this surrealism is subtle, idyllic, and perhaps even more devastating than melting clocks and distorted faces.
Shane Townley is an artist who challenges us to think about what we don’t see. To think about the earth and our destructive path. And it is here that he excels. Because by giving us what we think we want, he forces us to see what is really there.
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TOWNLEY (b. 1972)
Studios:
2004 - 2009, 104 : 104 South Ola Vista, San Clemente, CA 92672
2009 - 2015, 570 South Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
2015 - 2016, Java Studios, Green Point, Brooklyn New York
2016-2017, Mana Contemporary • 888 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ
2017-2019 - 368 Broadway, Tribeca, New York
2019-2020 - 373 Broadway, Tribeca, New York
2020 - Honeoye Falls, New York
2020 - Canandaigua, New York
2021 - LagunaART.com Studio, Mission Viejo
2023 - Present, Joshua Tree Studio, Joshua Tree, CA
Galleries / Shows:
Gallery 104, San Clemente, CA 2004 - 2009
Townley gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2009 - 2020
LagunaART.com gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2014 - 2020
NYA New York Art Center, Newyorkart.com, TriBeCa, NY 2019 - 2020
Market Market, Palm Springs, CA, Feb 2024
LagunaART.com gallery, Shops at Mission Viejo, CA 2021 - Current
Beatnik Lounge, Joshua Tree, CA 2024
Museums:
The ARM Museum, Joshua Tree, CA 2025 - Current