The phrase “Primero soy Boricua” resonates in Juan Sánchez's solo show Ricanstructions condiciones que existen at Hutchinson Modern. Twenty-four works of collage, painting, printmaking, and mixed media, spanning from the 1980s to his most recent production in 2022, provide insight into the artist's trajectory, including his activism, political views, and lived experience as a Boricua born in Brooklyn. Sánchez borrowed the term “ricanstructions” from jazz and salsa musician Ray Barretto’s 1979 album Rican/Struction to refer to the existing conditions that inform identity such as history, social and political experiences, and Sánchez’s process of adopting mainland US influences as a Nuyorican.
October 19, 2022
