León Gallery wishes to thank Mr. Marcel Antonio for confirming the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

The world in Norma Belleza’s paintings is flamboyantly exuberant and highly maximalist. Growing up near a marketplace made Belleza naturally accustomed to the sights, sounds, and experiences of the people struggling for daily survival. Such is the case with this work, which features a mother serenely watching over her sleeping son. Fresh produce, such as vegetables, fruits, and fish, surround them, clearly expressing a marketplace setting. It can be seen that the mother juggles between providing for their daily sustenance while maintaining an intimate connection with her son, i.e., making sure that he is well taken care of. Belleza’s maximalist approach to painting the common folk and their everyday activities in their locales implies the artist’s profound understanding of their struggles for survival and sustenance. In particular, her depiction of people, especially women, as able-bodied, with their facial expressions connoting the strains of labor under an unsympathetic and inhumane system, manifest the seemingly endless contradiction between struggling, surviving, and ultimately achieving genuine societal change. By masterfully combining the vividness of the colors of her composition, the tightly knit connection of her subjects, and their corporal vigorousness, Belleza reinforces the idea that the people are their own messiah. (A.M.)