Vegetable Man / Hombre Vegetal

“Vegetable Man, one of Carrillo’s last paintings conveys a sense of timelessness, an almost comical expression of life, yet its seated figure is fixed on earth, drinking ‘something’ for the ages. While still-life painting dates back in time- one thinks of the paintings by sixteenth-century Italian mannerist Giuseppe Arcimboldo- Carrillo’s image was certainly a departure from what Chicano artists’ work reflected at the time. This expression of identity and culture transcends borders and puts Carrillo in step with artists who emerged in protest in other parts of the world. Like Los Tropicanas, Vegetable Man plays with time and space, growth, figurative composition, and nature and culture.(..) In Vegetable Man, Carrillo brings forth a vision of life now and movement into the future.”

– Gilberto Cárdenas, from the Crocker Catalogue for “Testament of the Spirit”

Photo courtesy of The Crocker Art Museum

EC.0202