Local Artist Meet and Greet: R. E. SANCHEZ

R. E. SANCHEZ is a Salvadoran expatriate who received his Bachelor of Art (BFA) from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2000 and now resides in Miami. He's exhibited in cities such as Beijing, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Currently, he is the art director for Life is Art, a non-profit group dedicated to the promotion of Miami artists. His solo exhibit, Stabbing Hate, will be on display at the CS Gallery in North Miami Beach until May 24th.

How influential are other modes of art, such as film and music - on your own work? Has a poem, song, or film etc ever inspired you to create?

I think the most influential modes of art for me have been music, film and photography. I created an original sound piece from samples for an exhibition dealing with money a few years ago. Music is constantly playing in my studio. I wake up and go to sleep with music. I believe the world would be a very boring place if music didn’t exist. I can’t really specify if one song in particular has inspired me. I like to have my music collection play on random because to me it offers a good variety, just like life in general.


What was the last book you read?

No One Here Gets Out Alive by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman. It was the first biography of Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors. I really appreciated the book because it gave light to the literary inspirations of Jim Morrison. He considered himself more of a poet than a rock star in many respects and in many ways felt disappointed that his poetry was never as popular as his music.

If you could have a drink with any artist living or dead, who would it be and why?

Jim Morrison: for his extreme decadence. I have been attracted to decadence in people for as long as I can remember. Michelangelo: for his extreme passion, craftsmanship and skill. Leonardo DaVinci: for his wide intellect and curiosity. Diego Rivera: for his ability to melt art and politics in such a pleasing manner.

Please choose your favorite: Picasso, Miro or Marcel Duchamp? Why?

Duchamp had a great sense of humor and an intense conviction to his art. He turned Western Art on its head with his early works.

Picasso was very good at reinventing himself and working in a multitude of mediums, but my favorite at present is a contemporary by the name of Tom Friedman. I saw his solo show while working in San Francisco at The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and was blown away by his ability to melt body, mind and humor so well.

Do you believe that Miami is an 'artist friendly' city that promotes local talent? Please elaborate.

Miami has grown a lot since I moved here five years ago. I think more artists are moving here and discovering that it is still uncharted territory. Every time I walk around Wynwood, I see new galleries popping up from nowhere. My experience has been that it is very hard for young artists to find quality galleries to represent them. I find the art world to be a very political arena in which an artist’s work is not as important as who he/she knows or who finds his/her work appealing enough to collect it and influence his/her friends to collect it. In light of that, I recently teamed up with a very talented group of people to form a non-profit organization called Life Is Art. Our objective is to be able to bring more art to a bigger audience in Miami. We are planning our next events for this summer and are very excited to be able to make our mark in the promotion of up and coming artists in Miami and beyond.

Please choose your favorite: The Beatles, Rolling Stones or Run DMC.

Bob Dylan has managed to change his style in many ways throughout the years and continues to put out material that is fresh and poetically complex. I saw him perform live a few years ago and found it really hard to relate because he is very interested in always playing new versions of his songs. I had read that he does this during his performances but I never knew he was so drastic with his rearrangements. I recently purchased one of his bootleg albums and felt the same way the first time I listened to it. But, after a few more plays, I discovered that his talent is enormous and his passion for variety is never ending.

What were you doing at 8:45pm last night?

I assisted in the creation of my first marble cake with my lovely wife Marylene. She is an amazing cook and one of my biggest inspirations.