Olivia Peguero Art and Paintings: Its Symbolism and Meanings
Olivia Peguero Art and Paintings: Its Symbolism and Meanings
At first look Olivia Peguero’s oil paintings are magnificent and lavish tropical visions of the Dominican Republic and Caribbean. Her art has been inextricably linked to the idea of island life and the splendor of its landscapes and botanical diversity. Peguero only produces a few pieces each year, some taking months to complete. She is often seen in images, flanked by her assistant or with only her easel and set of oils. Spending weeks at a time in the countryside, she has gained a direct relationship with the people and farmers that live and work the landscape she paints.
But look closer at her art and it will reveal a tropical vision that looks past the spectacular colors and into the heart of the country, its people and the issues they face.
Since Mrs. Peguero completed her first group of stunning flowers, each has shown the stages of life from birth to adolescence, adulthood to aged and finally death. But in 2007 her use of symbolism became very pronounced in the work named “La Montanas Esmeralda de Quisqueya” or “The Emerald Hills of Quisqueya”. The work was commissioned to be a visualization of the poem with the same name. In the painting there are many symbols and imagery that deal with the social and environmental issues that Mrs. Peguero sees while working in the countryside.
Here are a few items that are notable in the work of art: 1. The Cocoa pod which is a prominent feature in the work was painted as it is naturally and was not given a luster of beauty but was given a patina of age ready to fall. Meaning: During the time the work was completed, world chocolate prices rode to an all-time high. Even with the high prices many farmers expressed a fear for their security and could not harvest much of the crop due to armed bandits stealing cocoa from the plantations. 2. Barbed wire around the Cocoa tree: Signifies how the majority of the farmers live in poor conditions without the hope of
At first look Olivia Peguero’s oil paintings are magnificent and lavish tropical visions of the Dominican Republic and Caribbean. Her art has been inextricably linked to the idea of island life and the splendor of its landscapes and botanical diversity. Peguero only produces a few pieces each year, some taking months to complete. She is often seen in images, flanked by her assistant or with only her easel and set of oils. Spending weeks at a time in the countryside, she has gained a direct relationship with the people and farmers that live and work the landscape she paints.
But look closer at her art and it will reveal a tropical vision that looks past the spectacular colors and into the heart of the country, its people and the issues they face.
Since Mrs. Peguero completed her first group of stunning flowers, each has shown the stages of life from birth to adolescence, adulthood to aged and finally death. But in 2007 her use of symbolism became very pronounced in the work named “La Montanas Esmeralda de Quisqueya” or “The Emerald Hills of Quisqueya”. The work was commissioned to be a visualization of the poem with the same name. In the painting there are many symbols and imagery that deal with the social and environmental issues that Mrs. Peguero sees while working in the countryside.
Here are a few items that are notable in the work of art: 1. The Cocoa pod which is a prominent feature in the work was painted as it is naturally and was not given a luster of beauty but was given a patina of age ready to fall. Meaning: During the time the work was completed, world chocolate prices rode to an all-time high. Even with the high prices many farmers expressed a fear for their security and could not harvest much of the crop due to armed bandits stealing cocoa from the plantations. 2. Barbed wire around the Cocoa tree: Signifies how the majority of the farmers live in poor conditions without the hope of