Hard Light: The Work of Emilio Sanchez

This much anticipated and beautifully compiled monograph is the first to bring to light the prolific career and life of Emilio Sanchez, an imaginative and spirited twentieth-century Cuban American artist. Although barely acknowledged in his native country in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution, Emilio Sanchez dedicated much of his career to recreating the effects of Cuba’s sunsoaked colors onto canvas in his New York City studios. This volume collects Sanchez’s acclaimed paintings, watercolors, and drawings, which are celebrated for their architectural forms, brilliant palettes, hard lines, and striking use of light and shadow. Sanchez’s paintings reflect a dialogue with North American post War abstraction, as well as Latin American geometric abstraction. In addition to Cuban street scenes, Sanchez painted the architecture of New York, the Caribbean and North Africa, still lifes, and land- and seascapes. Offering diverse perspectives on this multifaceted painter, three compelling essays discuss Sanchez’s work—from its relevance to aspects of modernism in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S., to a glimpse into his private world and art through the lens of queer theory and aesthetics. This prismatic presentation gives readers a fresh look at this unique artist’s vision while firmly positioning Sanchez within the discourse on twentieth-century art history.

RAFAEL DIAZCASAS is an Independent Curator and Art Historian who specializes in Latin American art. JOHN ANGELINE is an art historian and museum educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. RUDI C. BLEYS writes widely in the field of queer theory.