Heard on The StreetFebruary 12, 2021
Recognition to Emilio Sánchez by the United States Postal Service (USPS)
The United States Postal Service (USPS) printed a series of exclusive stamps in homage to the centennial of the birth of Cuban American artist Emilio Sánchez Font (1921-1999).
The series is part of a prestigious category, “Forever,” that the Postal Service has in which other artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Frida Kahlo, and Andy Warhol, among others, have been honored. Being this the first time that the entity homage an artist of Cuban origin, four of his colorful lithographs and architectural paintings were selected: “Los Toldos” (1973), “Ty’s Place” (1976), “At the Souk” (1972) and “Untitled (Little Window Ajar)” from 1981.
On January 15, a USPS statement comments that “Sánchez explored the effects of light and shadow to emphasize the abstract geometry of his subjects. His artwork encompasses his Cuban heritage as well as his long life in New York.”
Emilio Sánchez was born in Camagüey, Cuba, in 1921; when he was young, he began his artistic training at Columbia University and, later, at the Art Students League of New York, where he lived since 1952. In the 1960s, the early representations of friends and models drove his practice to studies of sharp horizontal and vertical lines that comprised the city’s geometry, marking a break with the type of abstraction that many preferred at the time. In 1968, the artist, with ideas contrary to the Cuban revolutionary regime, nationalized in the United States.
The artist who died in Warwick, New York, in 1999, is recognized for his “architectural paintings”, naturalistic representations of shop fronts and urban landscapes. Emilio Sánchez’s practice has its roots in his native country, Cuba.
The series is part of a prestigious category, “Forever,” that the Postal Service has in which other artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Frida Kahlo, and Andy Warhol, among others, have been honored. Being this the first time that the entity homage an artist of Cuban origin, four of his colorful lithographs and architectural paintings were selected: “Los Toldos” (1973), “Ty’s Place” (1976), “At the Souk” (1972) and “Untitled (Little Window Ajar)” from 1981.
On January 15, a USPS statement comments that “Sánchez explored the effects of light and shadow to emphasize the abstract geometry of his subjects. His artwork encompasses his Cuban heritage as well as his long life in New York.”
Emilio Sánchez was born in Camagüey, Cuba, in 1921; when he was young, he began his artistic training at Columbia University and, later, at the Art Students League of New York, where he lived since 1952. In the 1960s, the early representations of friends and models drove his practice to studies of sharp horizontal and vertical lines that comprised the city’s geometry, marking a break with the type of abstraction that many preferred at the time. In 1968, the artist, with ideas contrary to the Cuban revolutionary regime, nationalized in the United States.
The artist who died in Warwick, New York, in 1999, is recognized for his “architectural paintings”, naturalistic representations of shop fronts and urban landscapes. Emilio Sánchez’s practice has its roots in his native country, Cuba.
