Hand Forged Steel Tree of Life
Guadalupe Hermosillo
Tin and Metal
Ht. 12" x W. 14" x D. 1.5"
Around 1548, metal smiths in San Cristóbal, Chiapas, taught by the Spanish, began making house crosses, padlocks, latches, and doorknockers. Virtually every house bore a cross on its rooftop. Guadalupe Hermosillo has carried the metal work to a high art, both reviving colonial-era designs and creating his own. He has experimented with fire's intensity to give the metal different shades of color, from intense blue to silvery white, with natural finish flashes of red, green, and gold mixed into a single piece. He has won nearly every honor given in his field and is featured in Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art.