Untitled 1980

Curator: Here we have an untitled acrylic-on-canvas painting by Pedro Coronel, dating to 1980. The biomorphic forms suggest themes relevant in considering Coronel’s perspective as a Mexican artist, navigating international modernism. Editor: Immediately, I'm drawn to the almost dreamlike quality of the colors. That stark blue background throws the hot pinks and reds forward. I sense a primal, perhaps even mythological narrative unfolding here. Curator: Right, the layering of these organic shapes generates a sense of the uncanny—of confronting our own embodied selves through symbolic form. We could read this as an engagement with decolonization, where artists in the global south began interrogating Eurocentric artistic forms. Coronel negotiates an interesting space for indigenous visibility and abstraction in Pop Art. Editor: Exactly, look at how Coronel utilizes circles—globes within the larger context. The entire painting looks like a cosmogram, a map of a deeply personal and shared cultural identity. And then the figure in the center… is that a representation of a deity, or a sacred ancestor? It possesses such spiritual poise, towering over the rest of the biomorphic landscape. Curator: Or is the deity the cultural values themselves? These forms speak to ideas of power structures that are challenged during periods of societal transformation. It suggests a need to break free from structures in order to grow. I believe the red is significant. Given Coronel’s heritage, its usage points to revolutionary themes relevant in much of Latin American art from this period. Editor: That use of red reminds me of pre-Columbian codices, and how they would use symbolic color and imagery to document important historical and spiritual events. It underscores that deep connection between the past and present that seems so integral to Coronel’s exploration of identity. Curator: Certainly. This artwork stands as an emblem for an artist navigating both global modernism and his own cultural landscape. Editor: Yes, the painting prompts me to wonder how inherited narratives can become landscapes we can wander and redefine.