Viewing Enoc Perez at Guild Hall, New York

A key figure in New York’s thriving contemporary art scene, Puerto Rican-born Enoc Perez is best known for his paintings of iconic American and utopian architecture. What strikes in his works is the absence of people.

For this exhibition at the Guild Hall in East Hampton, Perez has created a new body of work centred on natural disasters — notably the devastating impact of the 2017 Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico. Instead of focusing on the physical destruction of the hurricane, however, Perez has painted a symbol of hope: bent rather than broken palm trees which allude to the possibility of recovery. Alongside these large-scale paintings will be sculpture, drawings and other works yet to be exhibited elsewhere.

‘One of the beauties of being an artist is that you have a voice,’ says Perez in a short video on the museum’s website. ‘[This exhibition] is a great chance to bring awareness to this natural disaster.’