Existing comment:
Challenging the Past
Starting in the 1990's, the artist began incorporating symbols into his compositions, among them scissors, knives, pyramids, triangles, trees, stars, horseshows, as well as bows and arrows. Luna's graphic drawing, atmospheric backgrounds, and use of high contrast definition, highlight the pictographic qualities of these symbols. In using such conventional symbols, Luna created the space to develop a new vocabulary of form, structure and visual concepts, paying homage in the process to works by his Cuban forbears and contemporaries, including Wifredo Lam's The Jungle (1944) and Hurricane (1946), Sosa Bravo's Tribute to Almodovar (1995), and Umberto Peña's Aayy, Shas, I Can't Stand it Anymore (1967).
The paintings featured in this gallery convey a visceral tension. Isolated calligraphic forms appear constrained and the vacuum implied by their separation conveys a sense of horror. The symbols seek emancipation from their flat surfaces and strain for the freedom to converse among themselves about their respective cultural experiences, moral paradigms, and diverse religious traditions. In conveying this narrative desire, Luna alludes to the rich. Yoruba Ifa literary tradition and its role in the shaping of rural Cuban culture.
Luna has expanded his field of expression through the use of ceramic and metal. Steel plate etchings provide new vehicles for the artist to weave iconic images into a narrative that explores the tension between fleeting beauty and temporal recollections that shape memory and imagination. The hard mirrored surface of the metallic plates present a duality of nearness and distance-like memories themselves. These characteristics suggest a deep ambivalence towards the act of remembering and a guarded, distrustful view of seemingly unblemished. memories. |