Zilia Sánchez, a renowned Cuban artist known for her dimensional paintings that blend geometric abstraction with eroticism, passed away at the age of 98 on December 18. Galerie Lelong in New York, her representing gallery since 2013, confirmed the news of her death.
Born in Havana, Cuba in 1926, Sánchez was introduced to the world of art at a young age. Her father was a hobbyist painter, and she was mentored by the artist Víctor Manuel, who lived nearby. After studying at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro in Havana, Sánchez began exhibiting her work in both group and solo shows. In the 1950s, she worked in set and communications design, creating innovative backdrops for guerrilla theater groups during the Cuban revolution. One of her notable painting series, “Afrocubanos” (1956–58), delved into African traditions and rituals associated with the development of Palo, a religion that emerged after the Atlantic slave trade, using bold shapes and a muted color palette.
In the early 1960s, Sánchez moved to New York City following Fidel Castro’s rise to power in Cuba. Her unique style, characterized by sensual and biomorphic forms, stood out against the prevailing Hard-edge and Minimalist art movements of the time. It was during this period that Sánchez began experimenting with stretching canvas over hand-crafted wooden constructions to create the volumetric surfaces that would become her signature. These “erotic topologies” reflected the sinuous rhythms of nature and the female body.
Throughout her career, Sánchez drew inspiration from women warriors and heroines of Greek mythology, such as Antigone, reflecting her own experiences of political exile and navigating male-dominated art spaces as a gay woman. Her modular sculptural canvases, often in white, gray, and muted tones, invited viewers to interpret their allusive geometries with humor, fluidity, and pleasure.
In the 1970s, Sánchez settled in Puerto Rico, where she created murals for apartment building facades on a grand scale. Despite facing challenges like the destruction of her studio by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Sánchez continued to produce new works, including freestanding sculptures exhibited at Galerie Lelong in 2019.
While Sánchez’s art has gained recognition in recent years through major exhibitions and auctions, she remained relatively unknown in the United States for much of her career. It wasn’t until 2017 that her work was featured at the Venice Biennale. Her piece “Lunar” (1980) was showcased at this year’s Biennale, “Foreigners Everywhere.”
In 2019, the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, presented “Zilia Sánchez: Soy Isla (I Am an Island),” a solo exhibition that traveled to New York and Puerto Rico. The title reflects Sánchez’s dual identity as a Cuban and Puerto Rican artist, embodying both a sense of isolation and deep connection to her surroundings.
The Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in San Juan will host a solo exhibition titled “Topologías / Topologies” in spring 2025, originally curated by the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami. Sánchez is survived by her partner, Victoria Ruiz.
