Description

Carlos Quinto Kemm’s Luna y Sol is a highly detailed and symbolically rich mixed-media collage that explores duality, balance, and cosmic harmony. The composition is divided between two opposing yet complementary figures, each representing celestial and mythological forces. On the left, a pale-skinned figure with an elephant-like trunk and an ornate crown stands beneath a golden sun, embodying solar energy, intellect, and masculine power. His body is adorned with blue and gold patterns, and he holds a blooming flower, a symbol of vitality and creation. On the right, a darker-skinned, fierce-looking female figure stands beneath a crescent moon, exuding lunar energy, intuition, and feminine power. She wears elaborate jewelry, her body decorated with sacred symbols, and her pose conveys a sense of both strength and mystery.

Between them, a massive tree serves as the axis mundi—the world tree—uniting the celestial and earthly realms. Its branches intertwine with both the sunlit sky and the starry night, while various creatures, including monkeys, snakes, and birds, populate its foliage, emphasizing the connection between nature, mythology, and the cosmos. The contrast between night and day, light and shadow, male and female, sun and moon, underscores the artwork’s exploration of balance and interconnectedness.

Kemm’s signature layering of historical, religious, and cultural iconography is evident in every detail, blending elements of Hindu, Mesoamerican, and European artistic traditions. The figures’ hybrid forms and surreal elements suggest the fluidity of identity, transformation, and divine energy. Luna y Sol ultimately serves as a powerful visual meditation on the interplay of opposites, reinforcing the idea that harmony is achieved through the coexistence of contrasting forces.