Equilibrium: Fanny Sanín

In 2017, NMWA is taking a closer look at women working in abstraction. Born in 1938 in Bogotá, Colombia, Fanny Sanín developed her visual language during Colombia’s vibrant avant-garde art scene in the 1950s and ’60s. Unlike the gestural and organic paint strokes of Abstract Expressionism, Sanín’s works feature clean-edged geometric forms. Equilibrium invites viewers into the artist’s meticulous, intuitive process, which can include anywhere from four to 18 preliminary drawings preceding each finished work. Sanín uses these revisions to experiment with arrangements of form and color until she reaches her desired balance. Only then does she commit the final composition to a large-scale painting on canvas.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website