K E N I S E B AR N E S F I N E AR T
YOLANDA SÁNCHEZ: A VERDANT HEART September 16 – October 28, 2017
YOLANDA SÁNCHEZ - A VERDANT HEART Kenise Barnes Fine Art is pleased to open the fall exhibition season with a solo show featuring new paintings by Cuban-born artist Yolanda Sánchez. A Verdant Heart features seven new large-scale oil paintings from the artist’s Miami studio. The work is celebratory and expansive, a conscious offering of pleasure and beauty. This is the artist’s sixth show with the gallery, who has represented Sánchez since 2009. Gestural abstract painting is singular in its ability to convey a life force independent of fixed meaning or specific readability. Sánchez continues the legacy of painters such as Franz Kline, Brice Marden and Cy Twombly whose paintings express emotion through gestural paint application. The expert cadence of Sánchez’s brushstroke communicates unheard rhythms and the harmonies of opposing forces. Her paintings blur the lines between language and visual representation capturing vitality and spirituality with poetic grace. Nature, in a very broad sense, continues be the primary source of inspiration for Yolanda Sánchez. Her studies in calligraphy, dance, Eastern philosophy, poetry and the formal pictorial organization of Chinese and Japanese classical ink painting are simultaneously present her work. Tapping into the essential energy and power of these sources the artist aesthetically and spiritually distills the sensations of energy and stillness into elegant embodiments of ideas and materials. Working with light, color, gestural brushstroke and the materiality of the oil paint itself, the artist opens a space for the viewer, an invitation to enter, to be present, to contemplate, and to finish the work, as it were. In Sánchez’s painting, subject and object dissolve and are replaced by a “presence without form”; there is no story to be told, just simply a call to awaken. For the artist, making art is a way of being present in the world; it is an act of attention. Through this attention, she gives back and offers praise to the world. Among her many distinctions, Yolanda Sánchez is a Fulbright scholar and holds an MFA from Yale University School of Art. The artist exhibits extensively in the United States and in Korea and Italy. Please contact the gallery for images and additional information or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.
on the cover: A Verdant Heart
A Verdant Heart, 2017 oil on canvas 48 x 48 inches $9000.
detail: Me and Cinderella
Me and Cinderella, 2017 oil on canvas 41 x 29.5 inches $5500.
detail: Sweet Surrender
Sweet Surrender, 2017 oil on canvas 36 x 35 inches $5800.
detail: The Happiness of Birds
The Happiness of Birds, 2017 oil on canvas 60 x 60 inches $12,000.
detail: Sunflower Sutra
Sunflower Sutra, 2017 oil on canvas 60 x 48 inches $10,000.
detail: The Whole of the Moon
The Whole of the Moon, 2017 oil on canvas 48 x 72 inches (diptych) $14,000. (diptych)
YOLANDA SÁNCHEZ
STATEMENT
We must learn to see more, to hear more, to feel more. Susan Sontag Nature, in a very broad sense, is my source of inspiration. In a non-intellectual way, I am translating and projecting thoughts, emotions and sensations, into a moment of meeting, working with light, color and mark and the materiality of the paint itself. I am holding a space for the viewer – to enter, to be there, to have a moment of contemplation, and to finish the work, as it were. Subject and object are dissolved and replaced by a presence – a “presence without form.” There is no story to be told, just simply a desire to awaken. From a formal perspective, my study and training in calligraphy and my background in dance inform my marks. Calligraphy, like dance, is an interaction of movement and pause, energy and stillness. Full of motion, like individual dances of line and form, the marks are a universal aesthetic, conveying a life force, independent of meaning or readability. Rhythm, harmony of opposing forces, sense of space, purity and mystery, the gestural brushstroke – these qualities make up my process. My work is influenced by poetry, Eastern philosophy and the compositional structures of Chinese and Japanese classical ink painting, generating visual images that integrate drawing, writing and painting. My interest is not in making art that looks Asian, but in tapping into the energy or power that lies underneath these aesthetics, maintaining nature as my central element and making work that is spiritually infused. Parallel to the work of other American artists such as Franz Kline, Brice Marden and Cy Twombly, I endeavor to tap into the dynamic liveliness of the brushstroke and capture its poetic content, blurring the lines between language and visual representation. Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, I am a product of that "supersyncretic" (Benitez-Rojo) culture, which is the Caribbean. At times not certain of the language I am speaking, I improvise and remain open to other influences, like a traveler roaming and crossing borders. Making art for me is a way of being present in the world; it is an act of attention. And through this attention, I give back and offer praise to the world. As such, my work is celebratory, expanding, opening, and about offering pleasure.
K E N I S E B A R N E S F I N E A R T Was founded in 1994 on the belief that art is essential We are a gallery and art consulting firm representing emerging and mid-career, investment-quality artists. Our program includes over fifty artists working in a variety of mediums. The gallery mounts more than a dozen exhibitions annually in our exhibition space in Larchmont, NY as well as curating exhibitions for outside venues. Kenise Barnes Fine Art is an experienced art consulting firm. We guide both residential and corporate collectors and work collaboratively with designers and architects to provide a n d s o u r c e a r t w o r k f o r p r o j e c t s o f a l l s i z e s . O u r c l i e n t l i s t i n c l u d e s N e w Yor k University/Langone Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Bank of America Art Pr ogr am , Pf iz er Cor por at ion, Citibank Ar t Advisor y, Vicent e Wolf Associat es, and numerous museums and private collectors. Kenise Barnes, director Kenise@kbfa.Com Lani Holloway, galler y manager Lani@kbfa.Com B. Avery Syrig, sales and administrative assistance Avery@kbfa.Com 1947 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont, New York 10538
914 834 8077
www.KBFA.com
Photo credit: Susan Fisher Photography