African

Ancient Mediterranean

Asian

European and American

Art since 1900

Art since 1900

Jose Bedia's circular painting, inspired by Afro-Cuban and Native American spiritual beliefs, is a cosmogram that represents the trajectory of life. The artist weaves abstract lines and minimal forms to suggest the confluence of earth, sky and water. Two shamanic figures, part turtle/part man, flow between these natural realms.

At age twenty-three, Bedia was initiated into the secret rituals of Palo Monte, a religion derived from Central Africa and based upon the worship of forest-dwelling spirits. Smoking a pipe to invoke these beneficial beings, the round body of the larger figure holds references to the faith: the iron reliquary vessel, knife and sacrificial chicken used to combat evil; and the anvil, a symbol of Ogun, the god of metals and war.

After leaving Cuba, Bedia apprenticed with a Lakota shaman or medicine man in 1985. The sacred turtle of native myths and Plains Indian hide paintings are inspirations for this painting. Autobiographical elements -- the hand prints firmly marked on this work -- add to the depth of the painting's imagery and interpretation.