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A Resolution of the City Commission approving artwork by the artist Zilia Sánchez for the 427 Biltmore Way municipal building project (unanimously recommended by the Arts Advisory Panel, approval/denial vote: 7 to 0, and the Cultural Development Board approval/denial vote: 7 to 0); and authorizing an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 amended budget to recognize as revenue a transfer from the Art in Public Places reserve, and appropriating such funds to put toward the cost of the artwork, landscape re-design, and installation of the project.
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The construction and renovation work at 427 Biltmore Way is a municipal project and meets the requirement to contribute 1.5% of the aggregate project value toward public art.
On November 10, 2021, the Arts Advisory Panel (AAP) met and reviewed the architectural rendering and landscape drawings for the project and discussed locations for artwork at the site, the building’s use and its context to potential artwork, the relationship to the site and surrounding areas, and the best approach for acquisition of artwork.
On December 8, 2021, the AAP reviewed an artwork proposed by Mayor Lago for the site by artist Zilia Sánchez. The Panel agreed that the artist is significant and recommended the artwork Concepto I conditionally, based on receiving specifications about the materials and installation options.
On December 14, 2021, the Cultural Development Board (CDB) reviewed the proposed artwork Concepto I by Zilia Sánchez for an amount of $480,000 along with the recommendation of the AAP. The Board recommended that staff pursue an independent appraisal of the artwork prior to the Board making a recommendation.
On January 12, 2022, the AAP reviewed, and accepted responses provided regarding the material and installation options, including a re-design of the landscaping plan in partnership with the architect, artist, and her representative.
On February 15, 2022, the CDB reviewed the independent appraisal of the artwork and responses provided to the AAP. The Board agreed to recommend Zilia Sánchez as the artist, and her sculpture Concepto I to the City Commission, for installation at 427 Biltmore Way with a re-design of the landscaping as noted.
Zilia Sánchez’s work is characterized by her distinctive approach to formal abstraction using flowing silhouettes, muted color palettes, and a unique, physical vocabulary. She is primarily recognized for her shaped canvases, first created in Havana in the 1950s and further developed while living in New York City and Madrid. Sánchez’s signature style consists of stretching canvas over hand-molded wooden armatures and painting them with acrylic. Over her 75-year career practicing painting, sculpture, drawing, and multiples, Sánchez has explored the juxtapositions between the feminine and the masculine, the painterly and the sculptural, the personal and the universal, the exterior body and the interior self. The reduced color palettes in her compositions as well as the serial processes she employs connect her to Minimalism, though the embrace of the curve in her work bear witness to Sánchez’s distinct language. This focus is particularly present in her evolving interest in completely free-standing work including her first-ever sculptures in bronze.
Zilia Sánchez was born in 1926 in Havana, Cuba. The artist lives and works in San Juan, Puero Rico, where she settled in the early 1970s.
Sánchez’s work gained notable recognition after her 2013 survey at Artists Space, New York, and 2014 solo exhibition at Galerie Lelong, New York. Her work was subsequently included in the 57th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, VIVA ARTE VIVA, curated by Christine Macel. From 2019 - 2020 a major retrospective of Sánchez’s work was presented at the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico, and El Museo del Barrio, New York. Her work is in public collections throughout the world including Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Israel, Puerto Rico, Argentina, United Kingdom, and the United States.
The artwork, Concepto I, is composed of two painted bronze pieces that face each other, as if “in conversation,” as the artist often says. This is Sánchez’s first bronze sculpture with each piece measuring 84 x 20 x 25 inches. It was conceived in the early 2000s for a public art proposal in San Juan and created in 2019. In Concepto I, the bronze painted white softens the appearance of the medium, conveying the feeling that is perceived in her stretched canvas paintings.
The location of the proposed public artwork is on the plaza of the 427 Biltmore Way building located behind City Hall.
If approved by the City Commission, the artwork will be purchased through the artist’s representative gallery. The City and project architect will work with the artist and her gallery to revise the current landscape plan of the site, including lighting of the artwork.
Funding for the artwork is proposed through the art fund. Funding for the re-designed landscape, foundation, installation, lighting, and signage is also proposed through the Art in Public Places fund.
The cost of annual maintenance is anticipated to be minimal and is being proposed through use of the general fund as ordinary maintenance and will be included as part of the City’s annual public art maintenance plan.
The Arts Advisory Panel voted unanimously (7-0) to recommend the artwork “Concepto I” by artist Zilia Sánchez at their meeting on December 08, 2021.
The Cultural Development Board voted unanimously (7-0) to recommend the artwork “Concepto I” by artist Zilia Sánchez at their meeting on February 15, 2022.