Streetscapes of Emilio Sánchez

Museo de Arte de Ponce

This grouping of nine mid-size oil paintings offers a succinct overview of the hard-edged depictions of urban and architectural spaces of Emilio Sánchez (1921-1999), one of the most important Cuban artists of the second half of the 20th century. Sun-drenched porches, diagonal shadows cast across shuttered Brooklyn facades, and a lonesome depiction of the Cuban capital showcase the varied output that Sánchez was able to achieve with his rigorously economical visual vocabulary. Sánchez’s built spaces are seldom inhabited and are more akin to a painterly exploration of color and light than to a mimetic depiction of reality. As such, they offer an intriguing counterpoint to the work of other abstract Cuban artists.