The following review was originally published by Square Cylinder in June 2026.

In her latest solo exhibition titled “Arcane Appetites,” Nancy Friedmann-Sánchez’s slyly decorative still life works reflect upon centuries of colonial trade relations. Each of the thirteen new paintings and a single wooden screen at first convey domestic tranquility with compositions of bouquets and bowls of fruit. But closer inspection reveals surprising details: floating eyes on the back of the screen, contact narratives decorating central vases, and semi-transparent figures that recede in each background like abstract patterns. Taken together, these elements reflect the roiling appetite the Americas fulfilled for centuries as well as the migratory patterns that continue to shape our world today.

The black background of each work, along with their subjects — flowers in a vase, or a bowl of fruit — loosely quote from the tradition of 17th Century Dutch still life tradition, particularly the memento mori and banquet pictures that convey themes of abundance and perishability. That thematic tradition is particularly evident in a cluster of discrete works hung in a back room of the gallery, each depicting singular vessels — baskets, a wooden bowl, and blue and white china — with Latin American fruits like uchavas, nopal, or moras. In “Cuenco con Calabazas” (Bowl with Winter Squash) (2026), an exotic insect has landed on the fruit much as houseflies would appear on Dutch counterparts. The background of each work is additionally made of Tyvek, a synthetic, polyurethane material developed for the multi-use market by the DuPont Corporation.

Although the material mimics the aforementioned still life genre’s black painted background, Friedmann-Sánchez’s use references the legacy of the du Pont de Nemours family, which founded DuPont in 1802 after having fled France during the French Revolution. The company made a fortune by developing and selling gunpowder throughout the 19th century. Headquartered in Delaware, DuPont set up plants throughout the U.S. and, during its product diversification in the 20th century, internationally, through which it procured the rare minerals required for their many chemical, electronic, and agricultural products, including Tyvek. The material itself thus conveys a systemic history that further contextualizes Friedmann-Sánchez’s unique adaptation of barniz de Pasto (in English, varnish of Pasto, a city in Colombia), a centuries-long resin-based craft tradition.

In “Dream Map and Cornucopia with Rain” (2026), exotic bright blue flowers with red disc florets peal through the background, stretching tall on impossibly thin green stalks. They burst from a geometrically patterned water jug flanked by two other anthropomorphic vessels. All three are reminiscent of pre-Hispanic pottery produced in the region. In this painting, the central jug is the source of life, implying that ancient traditions remain vital. Semi-transparent figures riding boats in the background are rendered as if they are drops of falling rain. These elements, what Friedmann-Sánchez refers to as “dream maps,” are recurring elements similar to eye floaters, thereby connoting a field of cultural memory and tradition impossible to fully resolve. 

Throughout “Arcane Appetites” ornate vessels function as historical vignettes. In “Dream Map and Cornucopia with Carriage” (2026), a blue and white vase sits at the lower center of the composition. Blades of green grass reach up from its mouth. A ring of exotic blue flowers forms an auratic loop around the vessel. Drawing nearer, one sees additional zoomorphic figures in the background as well as patterned lines.

The blue porcelain references a tradition of artisanry in Latin America borrowed from original Chinese and Japanese porcelain that made its way to Europe and the Americas via new trade routes. European customers were eager to find more affordable alternatives, so they sourced the Colombian imitations. Here again, Friedmann-Sánchez explores the hybridization of cultures.

Born in Bogotá and raised by a Colombian anthropologist mother and American artist father, Friedmann-Sánchez emigrated to the United States in the 1990s. She is therefore keen on the history of indigenous cultures, colonial extraction, capitalist trade lines, and immigration. But “Arcane Appetites” invites us to consider our immediate situation as well giving us a deep look into the area’s physical environment, to trace the history of the peoples, their trading history, and the fortunes that have made up our social landscape. 

Indeed, the Bay met the shore near the present-day gallery in the form of an old wharf that was later filled in during the Gold Rush. Prior to that, it was the homeland of the Yelamu, a tribe of the Ohlone/Costanoan people, for several thousand years. While one can imagine Friedmann-Sánchez’s works serving to decorate a grand salon or dining room, their multiple histories more importantly serve as a reminder that no space, background or otherwise, is politically neutral.