Julio Antonio
/The focus of much of Antonio’s work in the 1980s and 1990s was study of modern Cuban history. Though he did not leave Cuba until 1985, he is as bitter as the earlier exile. His painting is openly political.
In this painting, the “bearded tyrant” lies within the “Pandora’s Box” which sits on an island. Surrounding the island is a body of water with skeletal figures. At the outer ring are the gods of Santeria, the Afro-Cuban religion of much of Cuba, who have been symbolically distanced from the island as a result of Castro’s policies.
Julio Antonio, NEW PANDORA’S BOX, N.D., ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, POLK MUSEUM OF ART PERMANENT COLLECTION 1993.4, ALL-FLORIDA BIENNIAL PURCHASE AWARD THROUGH THE KENT HARRISON MEMORIAL ACQUISITION FUND