NEW YORK, NY.- Morgan Lehman Gallery is presenting Pan con Timba, a solo exhibition of new works by Raymond Saá. This dynamic body of work explores abstraction through collage and painting, blending Saá’s Cuban heritage with an improvisational, process-driven approach to artmaking. The title, Pan con Timba, is inspired by a song of the same name by Afro-Cuban musician Bebo Valdés. Jazz, with its fluidity and structure, plays a central role in Saá’s artistic practice, echoing the rhythmic layering and spontaneous movement found in his compositions. Just as jazz invites innovation and interplay, Saá’s works thrive on the unexpected, drawing from formal mastery and personal intuition to create vibrant harmonies.
As a secondary connection, Pan con Timba also refers to the Cuban sandwich made with bread and guava paste—a surprising yet harmonious combination.
Saá’s collages begin with hand-painted sheets of paper, meticulously cut and sewn into small, intricate structures. These are assembled into larger compositions that pulse with color and rhythm. His use of sewing, inspired by his mother’s textile-making, adds an architectural quality to the work while emphasizing texture and physicality. This labor-intensive, intuitive process allows his pieces to evolve organically, embracing risk.
In his paintings, Saá extends the visual language developed in his collages, translating motifs and forms into layered, abstract arrangements. These works evoke natural and botanical forms that remain rooted in Saá’s cultural heritage. The dynamic interplay of shapes and colors mirrors the improvisational nature of Cuban jazz, celebrating discovery and creating space for joy.
Morgan Lehman Gallery invites viewers to experience Pan con Timba, an exhibition that bridges the worlds of music and art while celebrating the rich textures of Cuba. Saá’s work captures the rhythm of life, where intuition and memory become tapestry.
Raymond Saá is a Cuban-American artist born in New Orleans and raised in Miami. He graduated from the New World School of the Arts in 1991, received a B.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1995, and studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1996. In 1997, he earned an M.F.A. from Parsons School of Design. Saá’s work has been featured in exhibitions at White Columns, the Islip Museum, Wave Hill, the Museum of Art Puerto Rico, and El Museo del Barrio. He was awarded a 2019 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as well as grants and awards from Public Art for Public Schools, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and New Jersey Fellowship in Art. Saá lives and works in New Jersey.
