Hunt Slonem (b.1951-)
Red Mask, 1985
Oil on canvas
77 x 101 inches
Framed Dimensions: 79.25h x 103.25w x 2.75d inches
Slonem effectively uses light to symbolize the grandeur of lost civilizations. This painting is of pre-Columbian gold ceremonial objects and employs a strong painterly collage technique to load the pictorial surfaces impressing upon the viewer the Spaniards ransacking and the subsequent extinction of the El Dorado empire.
In older bodies of work, such as in the Red Mask, references to spiritually charged objects are much more apparent and literal. For example, Slonem favored depicting Catholic and Hindu saints surrounding animals early on.