Sisyphus – Mixed Media on Canvas by Luis Mandiola (00040)
$11,000
The artwork “Sisyphus,” painted in mixed media on canvas by Chilean artist Luis Mandiola Uribe, explores myth, human struggle, and expressive layered texture on canvas.
Sisyphus (Sísifo) is a large mixed-media painting on canvas in which the Greek myth is reinterpreted as a contemporary image of labor and perseverance. A dark human silhouette pushes—or is absorbed by—a massive bulk of blue-green matter: stony, leafy, elemental, and alive. The figure is small compared to the mass but fully present: arms extended, body leaning into the effort, silhouetted against a warm ochre background dotted with golden brushstrokes.
The warm background provides depth and visual warmth to the composition, while the cool blue-green tones of the central mass create an opposition reflecting the mythological tension between the human and the elemental. Mandiola’s treatment rejects both heroism and victimization: this Sisyphus neither triumphs nor is defeated but surrenders to the act itself—labor without resolution, effort as its own end.
The white flag rising above the mass introduces a note of productive ambiguity: surrender or arrival? The question remains open. The painting is part of Mandiola’s ongoing investigation into the human figure in relation to mass, weight, and natural force.
“Technique: Acrylic on canvas. Year 1982-2005. 66.1 x 57.1 in.”
Ideal for: Collectors of contemporary Chilean and Latin American art.
Ideal for: Collectors of contemporary Chilean and Latin American art.
