Blue Garden

Artist Luis Hernández Cruz (Puerto Rican, born 1936)

Date1985

Object number85.1651

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions78 1/2 x 90 1/8 in. (199.4 x 228.9 cm)
frame: 79 1/4 x 90 1/2 in. (201.3 x 229.9 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.

Collections

Puerto Rican Painting

Description"Blue Garden" is part of a group of paintings that Luis Hernández Cruz made in the 1970s and 1980s. Although the final result is an abstract composition, the natural landscape and images of pre-Hispanic Caribbean material culture serve as a thematic point of reference in these works. The artist has explained that the interplay of organic forms characterized this period of his career. Back then, Hernández Cruz highlighted these shapes on the surface of his paintings by using modeling paste. Using this technique, he achieved raised lines with the aspect of "veins" or "arteries" (as he calls them), allowing the canvas an “organic” appearance and creating defined contours for the shapes captured on the pictorial surface. Despite these references or the evocative character of the composition, the work relies on the autonomy of the visual image and on the discipline of painting as a self-sustaining entity.

Spotted an error or information that is missing? Our collection database is a living document which is frequently updated and may change with further research. If you have additional information to share, please contact Museo de Arte de Ponce at images@museoarteponce.org tell us more.