Bright Hand-Painted Wood Alebrije Sculpture, "Psychedelic Coyote"

This vivid coyote sculpture is created by Eugenia and Roberto Sosa in Mexico in the traditional Oaxacan art form of alebrijes. Carved from soft copal wood, the sculpture is painted by hand with myriad motifs in neon colors. The folk art tradition of alebrijes dates back to the 1930s in Mexico City. A man named Pedro Linares was taken ill, and in his fevered dreams, he saw a strange land populated with curious creatures--a donkey with wings, a rooster with bull's horns, and a lion with the head of a dog. The beasts all ran at him, shouting the nonsense word, "alebrije! alebrije!". Upon his recovery, Linares began recreating the fantastical creatures he had seen in his dream in papier mache. The art form gained popularity, and alebrijes are now made of wood as well as papier mache.