GREEN MACHINE:
The Art of Carlos Luna
oft-forgotten rural culture and
popular wisdom, plus AfroCuban religious traditions.
The work itself teems with
edgy political commentaries, delivering a verbal-visual
punch to map his journey with
proverbs, riddles, and graffitilike scrawls. In the words of
the artist: “The United States
is a country with immigrants
from everywhere, and this
gives me the opportunity to be
in contact with the world.”
While the work in this show
reflects Luna’s love for and dislocation from his native country, it also explores subjects
such as masculinity, violence,
gender roles, and cultural traditions. The artist employs culturally significant symbols in
his work—roosters, cigars,
lions, among others—thereby
Below:
Robo-Lucion, 2015,
mixed media on paper on wood,
47 x 59”,
Private collection.