Collecting Key West: The Work of Mario Sanchez Exhibit Opening

The Key West Museum of Art & History is pleased to present the exhibition, “Collecting Key West: The Works of Mario Sanchez”, opening on Friday, December 6.  A reception to mark the opening is scheduled to take place from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. that evening in the Bryan Gallery, which is free and open to the public.

Exploring the crossroads of art and history, this exhibition delves into the legacy of Cuban American folk artist Mario Sanchez (1908 – 2005).  Sanchez established himself as the foremost Key West artist in the 1940s, creating hundreds of intricately carved and painted intaglios that portray his birthplace in the first part of the 20th century better than any annals or academic texts.  His intaglios are a visual feast filled with the music, smells, and passion of Gato’s Village, the island’s Cuban American neighborhood where Sanchez spent much of his life.

The self-taught artist was born in Key West in 1908, the grandson of Cuban immigrants. As a child, Sanchez enjoyed carving, and as young man began carving fish out of pieces of driftwood, which he sold for $1.50. In the 1940s, at the urging of his mother-in-law, he began creating more complicated scenes depicting life in Key West as he remembered them from his childhood.

During his more than 70-year career, Sanchez developed his own style while mastering more traditional skills such as bas-relief carving and perspective. Working in cedar wood and white pine, the artist first sketched the scene onto a paper bag, and then used carbon paper to transfer the image to the wooden canvas. He then whittled the wood to create a low bas-relief, leaving the original sketch behind. Materials such as house paint, clean kitty litter (to provide texture for the streets), and egg yolks and Elmer’s glue (to make the windows shiny) were applied to the carved wood, bringing his artwork to life.

Sanchez’s first major public showing was in 1961 at the Fort East Martello Museum. This exhibition served to enrich his reputation as a well-respected artist and member of the Key West Cuban-American community.