Ana Guzman Works

Ana Guzman is known for work that is fresh, colorful, vibrant, and often playful.Her drawing resonates with electric energy, and her subject matter has the ability to transport the viewer to known and unknown places. Whether Old Havana, a downtown market,or a summer swimming hole, the viewer is transformed from voyeur to participant in the activity. Born in Havana, Cuba and arriving in the U.S. at the age of five speaking little English, Ana chose drawing as an important means of communication. Ana’s sketchbook was always close at hand as her family moved from New York to rural Pennsylvania and during summer vacations exploring their new country. After graduating with top honors from Philadelphia College of Art, Ana received a fellowship to study in Madrid and traveled extensively throughout southern Europe, continuing to capture the images she saw in her ever-present sketchbook.This has become an important part of her practice. She approaches painting gesturally, working quickly to capture images with impressions and using paint boldly and expressively, drawing energy from the people and places she paints. Her style has been compared to that of “a jazz musician’s brush strokes on the drums,”equating the rhythm of her brushwork with the rhythm of the subjects she paints. Fifty years of practice informs every mark she makes, and she never hesitates to use a variety of techniques and materials to achieve the remarkable freshness and spontaneity that define her work