This remarkable one-piece lemur woodcarving was created by Fatima Fuentes, who is the daughter of master carver Zeny Fuentes. It has a tender, dreamy atmosphere that is so innovative.
I really enjoy the pale lavender and mint colors since they make the sculpture seem almost weightless. The big, round eyes, painted like small kaleidoscopic flowers, are utterly charming. The body flows smoothly close to the ground, and the beautiful curling tail wraps around in a perfect arc.
Fatima pays such attention to detail.
Delicate pastel bands of checkerboards, grecas, and geometric designs flow along the body's curves. I especially appreciate her individually painted butterflies that seem to dance across the back, legs, and tail.
One butterfly hovers at the center of a mint green spiral on the haunch. The soft peach, yellow, lilac, and green tones make this lemur alebrije glow, as if it brings sunshine wherever it goes.
Fatima has created a piece full of gentle beauty. The soft colors, meticulous brushwork, and fluttering butterflies make the lemur feel as if it is resting in a tranquil garden. The painting's precision reflects the artistic tradition she learned from her father, Zeny Fuentes, yet the colors and design are unmistakably her own.
In the cultures of the Aztecs and those adjacent to them, butterflies and moths were closely associated with the concepts of the soul, transformation, and renewal, seen as delicate messengers of change rather than fixed, static objects.
