Rafael Sánchez is known mainly for his performance practice. In the late 1980s, he worked as a set designer and involved himself with the many aspects of a stage production. He began by performing androgynous characters, often in public and unconventional spaces, exploring the complexities of public space, private space, and identity as both a means of expression and repression. In the mid-2000s, Sánchez met his partner in art and life, Kathleen White (1960, Fall River, MA– 2014, New York) with whom he often collaborated. One of the pair's central collaborations was a book table stationed on Hudson Street, in front of Sánchez’s apartment, from which the artists would sell used books, found objects, and at times, selections from their own libraries. Establishing a locus of intellectual exchange, on a busy street named for a historical site of trade and commerce, the artist-approaching the project as an ongoing performance—set up camp at the book table on a daily basis. Today, Sánchez manages Kathleen White’s Estate and still hosts the Hudson Street book stand. Sánchez has also expanded his practice to encompass many different mediums, building a rich and varied practice—unified by recurring motifs— which often defy categorization.
Rafael Sánchez (b. 1960 in Havana, Cuba) graduated in 1984 from Rutgers University, Newark, NJ. He is a multimedia artist based in New York City.
