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2012 Exhibitions
The Noise of Democracy: Thomas Nast and the Elections of 1872 & 1876
September 21-December 9
Renowned political cartoonist Thomas Nast created some of his most famous work between the Presidential elections of 1872 and 1876. The Noise of Democracy examines the issues and personalities that shaped these important elections.
Color & Contrast Recent Gifts from the Emilio Sanchez Foundation
January 13-March 11
This exhibition presents 17 works of art created by Emilio Sanchez (died 1999), a Cuban-born American artist who won acclaim for his strikingly abstract paintings of architecture and landscape. Born in Camagüey, Cuba in 1921, Sanchez studied at the Art Students League in New York after moving to that city in 1944. Although he lived in New York for the rest of his life, his work continued to be inspired by the strong light and vibrant colors characteristic of his homeland. His well-known paintings of architectural themes focus on simplified forms rendered even more abstract by the play of light and shadow.
Traveling to countries around the Mediterranean in the 1970s and 80s, he found inspiration in the stark white vernacular buildings of Morocco. He was also fascinated by the forms of New York skyscrapers seen against colorful dawn or sunset skies. Emilio Sanchez was the recipient of prestigious awards, including first prize at the 1974 Biennial in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His work is represented in many major museums, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Works of art in Color and Contrast represent a variety of media, from oil paintings to watercolors, colored pencil, and ink drawings as well as prints in color and black and white. Among this selection are views of New York skyscrapers, Mediterranean streetscapes, Moroccan storefronts, Caribbean houses, and sunset views over the Hudson River. Many of them embody the artist’s attraction to the natural patterns created by brilliant sunlight on the bright colors or stark white volumes of Caribbean or Mediterranean architecture. Others reflect his ongoing investigation of dramatic skyscapes and cloud formations.
The paintings and works on paper in this exhibition are the recent gift of the Emilio Sanchez Foundation, which was established by stipulation of the artist’s will to preserve and promote his art and help fund ophthalmologic research and art scholarships.