Sancocho

The artists in Sancocho unsentimentally embrace the messy, simmering collision of distinct visual languages that structure contemporary painting. The exhibition unites painters who explore traditional painting through diverse aesthetic lenses, bound together by a related sensitivity of the "hand." The featured works are by painters who apply color with astute specificity, charting a genealogy of related approaches among artists with an individual sense of materiality and quirky meticulous composition. Like the hearty Latin American stew from which the show takes its name, the ingredients here offer and thwart immediate recognition. You rarely make a small batch of sancocho; it requires a massive pot and is usually cooked on weekends, holidays, and cold, rainy days to feed a crowd of family and friends. Also considered a hangover cure, it is a labor of obsession that relies on personal ratios of seasoning and takes hours of prep and simmering before it hits the table.

A great sancocho is often a controlled improvisation—a culinary dynamic that deeply mirrors the foundational practice of working with and teaching color. Just as a cook must understand how disparate spices and root vegetables will interact in a boiling pot to prevent a muddy, chaotic flavor, a painter must learn to intuitively feel color relationships. These artists orchestrate their palettes with that same controlled improvisation, allowing distinct hues, raw pigments, and material histories to interact, clash, and ultimately simmer into a vibrant, cohesive taste.

The avoidance of fetish is necessary
in order to penetrate the sublime. - Jack Whitten

Throughout the exhibition, the works navigate the tension between raw materiality and precise structure, considering first the novel meaning of the material specific to the painting, rather than the material’s inherent meaning. Some paintings lean into the physical properties of the medium, utilizing custom pigments and thick impasto to let the organic behavior of the paint dictate form. In contrast, other works rely on pattern, digital iconography, and geometric compartmentalization, translating screen-based aesthetics through expressive hand-painting or merging the canvas with sculptural assemblage by embedding everyday detritus.
Across the gallery, a recurring play between dissolution and containment unfolds. Intimate domestic fragments and recognizable environments dissolve into atmospheric brushstrokes, flat panes of color, or churning masses of oil segmented by stark lines. Ultimately, the exhibition highlights the elements that bind these diverse techniques together, illuminating the boundaries of the medium and the possibility of transcending them into a new flavor. 

left: Anna Fairbanks Santana, Pagan Spain, paper pulp, plastiline, pencil, and objects on wood | right: CJ Matherne, Debris Fall, oil on canvas in floater frame

2 lbs beef with bones: a mix of short ribs (costilla), beef shank (chamorro), or oxtail (cola). The bones are non-negotiable for a rich broth. 

1 lb beef stew meat, cut into large chunks

12 cups water

optional2 beef bouillon cubes (Maggi is traditional in Nicaragua)

1 large yuca, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks.

1 large quequisque, malanga or taro, peeled and cubed

2 ears of corn (elote), cut into 2” thick rounds

1 green plantain (plátano verde), peeled and cut into chunks

1 ripe plantain (plátano maduro), washed, cut into chunks, leaving the peel on so it doesn't over-sweeten the broth

2 chayotes, peeled, cored, and quartered.

½ small head of cabbage (repollo), cut into wedges

1 large onion, quartered

1 large green bell pepper (chiltoma), seeded and quartered

4 cloves garlic, smashed

1 large bunch of fresh mint (hierbabuena):CRUCIAL

1 bunch cilantro, optional for those with the "soap gene"

Salt and sour orange juice (or lime juice) to taste

1. Sancochar the beef. This step requires patience and skimming. Place all the beef, bones, and water into a very large pot and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. As it boils, a gray foam (impurities from the bones) will rise to the top. Carefully skim this foam off with a spoon and discard it until the broth is clear.
2. Once the broth is clear, reduce the heat to a steady simmer. Add the quartered onion, green bell pepper, smashed garlic, and beef bouillon. Cover the pot and let the meat simmer gently for about 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the beef is very tender and nearly falling off the bone.
3. When the meat is tender, it's time to add the hardest vegetables that require the longest cooking time. Add the yuca, corn, green plantain, and quequisque. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Once the yuca is just starting to become fork-tender, add the chayote, cabbage wedges, and the ripe plantain (with the skin on). Simmer for another 10–15 minutes until all the vegetables are fully cooked but still hold their shape. 
5. Finish with herbs and citrus: Do not boil the herbs.
6. Turn off the heat entirely. Stir in the fresh mint (hierbabuena) and cilantro. Letting the herbs steep in the residual heat releases their oils without turning them bitter. Taste the broth and adjust the salt. Squeeze in a splash of sour orange or lime juice right before serving to brighten the heavy broth.
7. Serve the broth in a large bowl, ensuring everyone gets a piece of meat, some corn, yuca, and cabbage. It is traditionally accompanied by a side of white rice, warm corn tortillas, and extra lime wedges.
   
   Nicaraguan Sopa de Res