Geometric Equations

Americas Society presents the first institutional survey presentation of the Colombian artist Fanny Sanín in New York. Curated by Dr. Edward J. Sullivan, the exhibition surveys the Colombian-born, New York-based painter's accomplishments in monumental acrylic painting, smaller compositions, and pencil studies to reinforce Sanín's position as an indispensable figure within the development of abstract art in both Latin America and the United States. Dedicated primarily to geometric abstraction, Fanny Sanín's prolific career spans five decades. Her paintings, drawings, and prints have been exhibited widely throughout Latin America, the United States, and Europe. Although her work has been shown widely in more than 300 group and 55 solo exhibitions, has prompted a variety of publications and scholarly essays, and is included in numerous leading public and private collections, this exhibition is the first institutional survey presentation of Sanín's paintings in New York—where she has lived and worked for 54 years. Designed by artist Carlos Motta, the exhibition features several free-form abstract compositions demonstrating the strength of the artist's early work before moving into her characteristic geometry-based production. 21 major paintings and two dozen smaller studies are installed in loosely chronological order to guide visitors through the subtle changes in Sanín's use of color and form to explore geometry's possibilities. An ample selection of preparatory sketches speaks to the painter's meticulous process. Viewers see how Sanín begins to create her large-scale acrylic paintings after doing many pencil sketches, drawings, collages, and watercolors to refine the juxtapositions in each composition. Eric Marciano's film, Fanny Sanín The Critic's Eye: Reflections on Pure Abstraction, is also included in the exhibition, which addresses how her work suggests concrete (i.e., Mesoamerican architecture) and oneiric (i.e., a sense of vibration) structures, without directly referencing observed places or things. Fanny Sanín's more than six-decade professional career—from her native Bogotá to Urbana, Illinois; Monterrey, México; London; and New York—demonstrates the continuous development from the initial expressionistic art to her geometric works. Major museums collect her work, such as, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Museos de Arte Moderno of México, of Bogotá and of Medellín, Museo Nacional and Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia in Bogotá, University of California at Berkeley, Oberlin College, and Wellesley College. The Institute of Fine Arts, NYU featured her work. Recently, paintings entered the collections of the Tate Modern and the Museo Reina Sofía. Key recent exhibitions include the inaugural exhibition of the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center, the Achi Art Triennial, and the landmark exhibition in England, France, and Germany, Action-Gesture-Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940–70. She is invited to the main section of the 2024 Venice Art Biennale. The 2019 monograph Fanny Sanín: The Concrete Language of Color and Structure presents a comprehensive review of her oeuvre. Galleries that represent her include Sicardi Ayers Bacino, Houston; Durban Segnini, Miami; Goya Contemporary, Baltimore; and Alonso Garcés, Bogotá. Her Legacy Project, led by prominent scholars, is committed to the placement of works in major museums and collections and later will continue as a trust responsible for the legacy of Fanny Sanín's art.

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