Building Light & Shadow: The Architecture of Emilio Sanchez

Born in Camagüey, Cuba, in 1921, Emilio Sanchez credited the landscape of his youth with developing his life-long interest in the effects of light and shadow on color. Although his early works explored figurative themes, Sanchez began his best known series of paintings and prints highlighting houses and other types of architecture in the 1960s. In these works, Sanchez imbued the buildings he depicted with vigor, despite their simplified forms and vacant interiors. Throughout the 1970s–80s, Sanchez traveled to the Mediterranean where he furthered his formal understanding of light and color and continued to explore architectural themes. The works in this exhibition feature images of vernacular architecture from Latin America, the United States, and North Africa. We are grateful to the Emilio Sanchez Foundation for gifting these works to the museum.