Juan Sánchez, Visiting Artist Lecture 1990

Artist Juan Sánchez gives a lecture at Skowhegan talking about his practice which spans painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and collage. Political and personal histories are the driving force behind Sánchez’s work, and he specifically draws from his Puerto-Rican identity and experiences growing up in Brooklyn. Sánchez also draws inspiration from African religions in Latin American culture, specifically exploring the seven African deities and their powers. Constructs of racism as something that is both internal and external is something Sánchez explores; whether it is the racism we face or the racism we carry inside of us. Sánchez says that all artists aestheticize a lived, felt experience, and the these experiences can be regenerative as well as political. Sánchez ends his lecture telling participants of the importance to always imbue art with history and culture and to expose ourselves to painful truths so we can grow as artists.