Juan Manuel Sánchez played a crucial role in liberating Argentinian arts. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1930, the eldest of five children in a working class family. Though he would mature into one of Argentina’s most renowned artists, it is said that a young Sánchez greatly disappointed his hard-working father by pursuing the “bohemian” lifestyle. 
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 In 1948, Sánchez began his artistic studies under Vicente Puig, rapidly acquiring a profound mastery of line and color. His training allowed him to conceptually develop an intense emotive response to the human form, especially that of woman, creator of life.
 
In 1956, Sánchez began exhibiting his work with fellow artists Ricardo Carpani and Mario Mollari. Three years later they formally banded together as the Spartacus Movement. They played a tremendous role in the transformation of Argentina’s cultural landscape before they disbanded in 1968.
 
Sánchez’s artistic development occurred in five distinct periods. The first coincided with his time in the Spartacus Movement, where his efforts were dedicated to creating impressive murals and grand canvases depicting the Argentinian government’s exploitation of the working class.
 
Sánchez’s second artistic period began in 1968 and lasted throughout the 1970s. During this time, Argentina was faced with a military coup; a reign of terror unleashed on citizens where nearly 30 000 people disappeared. Sanchez and his wife at the time, Elena Diz (also previously a member of the Spartacus Movement), took refuge and traveled throughout Europe, where Sanchez’s art became objective: restrained and colorful.
 
In the 1980s, Sánchez returned to Argentina, where his third artistic period began. Motivated largely by the central theme of womanhood his work received a breath of vitality. His expression during this time grew personal with color, curves and sensuousness flourishing in his canvases.
 
Sánchez spent the majority of the 1990s in Vancouver, Canada. There, his fourth period of work would reflect the temperament of the city, becoming tranquil and reflexive. Finally, in the early 2000s, he returned to his home country of Argentina, where his style was further restrained to black and white.
 
Sánchez’s career has been intense and rewarding, spanning multiple decades and countries. He has won several national, provincial, and international awards. His paintings are displayed in collections in museums in France, Canada, Israel, Uruguay, the USA, Hungary, Chile, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and of course Argentina. The city of Buenos Aires passed legislation to protect Sánchez’s mural “The Family”, stating that it must be maintained and protected by any means necessary because it is a national treasure.