Ruben Trejo’s Mandalas

Meet the Artists of Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art

Media - 2013.37A-F - SAAM-2013.37A-F_2 - 91087

Ruben Trejo, Mandalas1986-1990, welded iron railroad spikes, marble, iron sheet, lead, and wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum

About this Artwork

In Mandalas, Trejo used railroad spikes, a material laden with meaning for the artist, whose father laid train tracks in the Midwest. Slightly bent and weathered to a rusty brown, each column of welded spikes evokes bodies caught in the midst of labor.

Acerca de esta obra

En Mandalas, Trejo usó clavos de ferrocarril, un material lleno de significado para el artista, cuyo padre instalaba rieles de tren en el Medio Oeste. Ligeramente doblados y oxidados, cada columna de clavos soldados evoca cuerpos en pleno trabajo.