Detail from Old Antonio / El Viejo Antonio

(from The Story of Colors / La Historia de los Colores*)

Old Antonio sits on the ground telling his story. Inspired by seeing the toucans which fill the sky around him, he shares his people's story of how the colors came to be. In a style called naturalistic folk art and the visual equivalent of magical realism, Domi Domínguez brings life to Mayan folklore. Her forms are simple, bold and childlike, her colors rich. This image is one of many from story books she has illustrated—all upholding the culture and spiritual stories of Mexico's indigenous people. Domínguez has become one of the most significant of the indigenous artists in Mexico. Her paintings and sculptures, in which she has developed a very personal and postmodern style, are leavened with the wit and wisdom of her own Mazatecan culture.

—Lois Huey-Heck