Fernando Guerrero, Mexico; Francisco Tambriz, Guatemala; Rocky Pivarral, Guatemala C.A.; Rogelio Taurequin (Rogelio No. 2) (Four Works)

As deft at dignifying as he is at portraiture, Los Angeles-based painter John Sonsini (b. 1950) recruits his brush to get to the heart of the human condition. Arresting in their defiant gazes, the individuals depicted in each of the four works that comprise the present lot bespeak the resilient spirit cultivated by hands engrossed in manual labor and history steeped in hardship. Fernando, Francisco, Rocky and Rogelio are Latino day laborers working in Los Angeles, hired by the artist for a day’s wage to sit for their portraits in Sonsini’s studio. At the conclusion of each session, the sitter signs the reverse of the canvas bearing his likeness, leaving an indelible mark on a work destined for white cubes nationwide, boldly breaking the barrier between the quotidian and esoteric. With his practice, Sonsini both highlights the disparity between the financial efficacy of separate industries, while simultaneously elevating his sitters to the ranks of kings and queens—once and for all capturing in a face the nuances of a life truly lived.