BIOGRAPHY
Natalia Sánchez (b. 1992, Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a visual artist whose work explores the relationships between identity, memory, and the built landscape, with a particular focus on the materiality of architecture and its cultural and psychological impact. Her work centers on Puerto Rican vernacular architecture—its artisanal elements and traditional materials that have been part of the island's architectural identity. Through painting, audiovisual media, and community-based projects, Sánchez examines how the built environment, and its gradual deterioration and neglect, reflects the societal problems and injustices caused by colonial policies in Puerto Rico.
In recent works, the artist highlights forgotten or mutilated elements of Puerto Rican vernacular architecture—such as hydraulic tiles, decorative cement blocks, and ornamental ironworks. She employs unconventional painting techniques and tools, such as orbital sanders and construction spatulas, to emulate the original artisanal processes involved in the creation of these elements. Sánchez examines how these materials, patterns, and textures reflect Puerto Rico's cultural identity and socio-political realities, inviting reflection on how the built landscape impacts identity, collective memory, and culture.
Sánchez's work gained significant visibility during her recent participation in the Untitled Art Fair at Art Basel 2024. That same year, she took part in key exhibitions during Meca Art Hop Week, including Contemporary Painting of Puerto Rico at Pública and Material, Materialism, Materialist, Materialize at FADS. She also participated in the annual auction at the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, solidifying her presence in the island’s contemporary art scene. Internationally, she exhibited in Structural Concerns at Marshall Gallery (Los Angeles), Bajo Otro Sol at Master’s Gallery (San Juan), and Servicio a Domicilio at Adhesivo (Mexico City). In 2023, she was selected for the MASS MoCA Fellowship for Artists from Puerto Rico, where she completed a residency focused on place and material culture. Her career highlights include a solo exhibition at Kilómetro 0.2 in San Juan in 2022 and her participation in A Diasporic State of Mind at Praxis Gallery in Chelsea, New York, in 2021. Sánchez also received the NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant in 2019 to produce the audiovisual documentary País Espejo, which examines the urban history of Arecibo through community narratives and was exhibited at Casa Ulanga alongside her paintings. Sánchez returned to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and is based in Arecibo, where her work continues to engage with themes of urban planning and community. She holds a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design (2015) and spent seven years building her career in Columbus, OH, where she worked as an artist and cultural organizer.