Paul Sierra’s Afternoon Landscape at Krannert Art Museum

Paul Sierra was born in Havana, Cuba in 1944. His work
reflects on the primary elements in nature and mythology that
represent transformation and passage through fire, water, and
lush vegetation. His bold brush strokes layer the canvas until
they are thick and buttery with intense color. Attending the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy
of Art, his work takes the helm of a unique expressionistic
quality that has made him one of the most successful Cuban-
American artists.
Sierra’s work is included in the Landscapes of Experience and
Imagination: Explorations by Midwest Latina/o Artists exhibition,
which is showing until July 27 at the Krannert Art Museum.
These works reflect the responses of Latina/Latino artists to
the natural and built environment. The six, largely Chicagobased
artists have explored the theme of landscapes through
mixed and new narrative media installations, as well as through
more traditional means of drawing, painting, and sculpture.
Their works address the memories or imaginings of a tropical
forest, the suburbs, and the density of urban-scapes, as well as
the artists’ own self-identities or understandings of the Latin
presence in the United States.