1993-95

The Icon Series started while I was working on the Madonnas in Time Series.
As I was doing my research for the Madonnas series, I became very interested
in single objects that symbolized specific themes in Hispanic culture. The
first few paintings dealt with issues relating to culture, history,
religion, gender and alienation.

The rest of the series reflected specific objects in Cuban culture. I
concentrated my efforts on using everyday objects or experiences that
identified Cuban culture. I felt that a culture was best defined by the
everyday experiences that made it different from other cultures. The last
grouping of 5×8 foot paintings is of Cuban food.

The paintings were created on a fresco-like support system using traditional
applications of plaster. The application of plaster, the size of the work,
painting approach and the subject matter was combined to present everyday
cultural objects in a format that had historically been used in “high” art.

Series consisted of 10 paintings.

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