Antonio Alonso: Museum Quality Axolotl Emperor Ceremony heart pieces he carves together with

pieces he carves together with his wife

a hand-labeled Carisima Familiar beer bottle (Antonio's playful wink at the iconic Corona Familiar so often left for the departed)

Black and white rings sweep around the volume

hand-drawn patternwork that feels both ancient and contemporary

and quiet strength in Mexican culture

Antonio Alonso: Museum Quality Axolotl Emperor Ceremony heart pieces he carves together withThis is Antonio Alonso at his most ambitious and inventive, a full ceremonial tableau in which a court of axolotls gathers around their emperor in a sacred ritual. The piece is unlike anything else in his repertoire, a multi figure composition that reads almost like a small mythological theater set on a black wooden stage. At the center rises a turquoise tree of life, its trunk and curling branches painted in shades of teal and aqua, scattered with