“Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.”—Rene Magritte

Arturo Sanchez continues his exploration of mirrors as a medium in Momentary Pause, a solo exhibition mainly composed of portraits sandblasted on reflective glass. These etchings, faces of family members and friends who have served as his subjects throughout his career, form the underlying grid for his acrylic and collage embellishments.

The show’s title is a reference to the discipline an artist must possess while waiting for the perfect moment to capture an image.

Where previous exhibitions saw Sanchez using shaped mirrors and bubble mirrors inserted into canvases, the portraits in Momentary Pause are done entirely on a mirror’s reflective plane. For comparison, a triptych titled Between Teardrops shows the artist using a previous technique. Images of human survival are trapped behind the reflective surfaces of bubble mirrors and sealed in with lacquer. Like silver tears scattered on page, they float above painted panels resembling film clips from a destruction movie. Gray plumes of smoke hover menacingly above a peaceful suburb; an overcast sky blankets houses cowering close to each other; and, finally, a fire rages and consumes a solitary house that stands alone in the darkness.

Between Teardrops is a counterpoint to the 11 portraits in Momentary Pause, collectively known as Within Without. The faces, frozen in time, are juxtapositions of the literal and the metaphorical. First, Sanchez faithfully reproduces the physical attributes of his subjects—the lines on their faces as they smile, grimace, and stare are stenciled onto the mirrors and sandblasted. Then, he incorporates an overlay representing their desires, fears, alter egos, as well as his own impressions of the subject. Each portrait is a double exposure depicting the physical and the abstract self.

Case in point, the frowning visage stenciled in Horny Man (Mael) is given a demonic twist through collaged cutouts that form a set of antlers sprouting from his forehead, orange tongues of flame leaping from his eyes, and a pink reptilian tongue unfurling from his mouth.

The artist’s portrait of his mother, meanwhile, recasts his subject as queen. The ruffled collar, aquiline nose, and red hair of royalty almost overwhelm the humbler features of Sanchez’s mother, whom he has declared queen among women.

The acrylic overlays in Momentary Pause are more deliberate. Instead of relying on spontaneous drippings as in the past, Sanchez has decided to apply more layers of paint, his strokes sometimes visible to the viewer.

Moved by another quote attributed to Rene Magritte, “Humans hide their secrets too well,” Sanchez uses his mirrors to show the truth of a person. Within Without exposes his subjects for the jokers and romantics they really are.

Momentary Pause invites viewers to look into a mirror and see someone else’s soul, “the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.”—ll

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