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Lot Essay
The creation of Rediscovering Eden (Lot 514) is a recent breakthrough for Arturo Sanchez, whose distinctive style incorporates collaged mirrors into canvases. Here, he expands his signature idiom with mirrored acrylic sheets extending beyond the surface of the canvas; more accommodating of artistic expression than the inlaid plane and convex mirrors of previous works.
Rediscovering Eden is an assemblage which depicts the heady stage of falling in love through several layers. The painting is based on a vintage photograph titled An Invitation to Love, an intimate and tender moment. He holds both of her hands and lifts one to his mouth to bestow the slightest of kisses. Across the table, her eyes are closed, savoring the feel of his lips on her skin. The gesture is chaste but carries with it the unspoken promise of paradise.
Above this picture of elegance and propriety roars the flame of desire, in curling tongues of fire and delicate floral petals, formed by Sanchez's mirror collage. After cutting and warping the acrylic sheets, Sanchez inserts images into the mirrored surfaces and seals them in with lacquer. This forms a raised layer over the canvas, with an interesting texture of movement and volume owing to the pliable yet reflective nature of the mirrored acrylic.
Rediscovering Eden is an assemblage which depicts the heady stage of falling in love through several layers. The painting is based on a vintage photograph titled An Invitation to Love, an intimate and tender moment. He holds both of her hands and lifts one to his mouth to bestow the slightest of kisses. Across the table, her eyes are closed, savoring the feel of his lips on her skin. The gesture is chaste but carries with it the unspoken promise of paradise.
Above this picture of elegance and propriety roars the flame of desire, in curling tongues of fire and delicate floral petals, formed by Sanchez's mirror collage. After cutting and warping the acrylic sheets, Sanchez inserts images into the mirrored surfaces and seals them in with lacquer. This forms a raised layer over the canvas, with an interesting texture of movement and volume owing to the pliable yet reflective nature of the mirrored acrylic.