Love, Not War (EL AMOR Y NO LA GUERRA), 2026

I often enjoy taking idioms, sayings and popular expressions literally to create images. The phrase "Make Love, Not War" is an anti-war slogan commonly associated with the '60s counterculture, used primarily by those who were opposed to the Vietnam War but invoked since in other anti-war contexts around the world. The "Make Love" part of the slogan often referred to the practice of free love that was growing among youth who denounced marriage as part of the traditional capitalist culture.

This series is a wish. In times like this, I simply refuse to believe that civilization and evolution couldn't lead us away from killing each other. If we accept that it is okay to attack each other simply because we do not agree or like each other, the whole planet will be a war zone, and war never helps things grow, never makes people be okay or feel better. Love does. And if we cannot love one another, we can at least appeal to coexistence agreements like tolerance, respect, sovereignty, democracy, diplomacy, and the rule of law.

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A menudo disfruto de interpretar literalmente expresiones idiomáticas, dichos y frases populares para crear imágenes. La frase "Haz el amor y no la guerra" es un eslogan pacifista comúnmente asociado con la contracultura de los años 60, utilizado principalmente por quienes se oponían a la guerra de Vietnam e invocado desde entonces en otros contextos antibélicos en todo el mundo. La parte "Haz el amor" del eslogan a menudo se refería a la práctica del amor libre que estaba en auge entre los jóvenes que denunciaban el matrimonio como parte de la cultura capitalista tradicional.

Esta serie es un deseo. En tiempos como estos, simplemente me niego a creer que la civilización y la evolución no hayan podido evitar que nos matemos. Si aceptamos que está bien atacarnos simplemente porque no estamos de acuerdo o no nos caemos bien, todo el planeta será una zona de guerra, y la guerra nunca ayuda a que las cosas crezcan, nunca hace que la gente esté bien ni se sienta mejor. El amor sí. Y si no podemos amarnos, al menos podemos apelar a acuerdos de coexistencia como la tolerancia, el respeto, la soberanía, la democracia, la diplomacia y el estado de derecho.

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Any 3 paintings can be adopted for $900 ($300 each).

Contact sandra@cactusgalleryla.com for more info.

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Multimedia artist Patricia Krebs talks about life: the complexity of humanity, the connections within ourselves, each other, and to the Earth. Krebs's mixed media pieces combine collage, ink and acrylic on canvas. She then playfully combines gestural painting and line drawing with detailed photos, small pieces of text and three dimensional objects.

Patricia Krebs lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has been creating art for Cactus Gallery since 2006.

Browse more of her work here: https://cactusgalleryla.com/collections/patricia-krebs

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* The gallery is open to installment plans to help you grow your collection. Contact sandra@cactusgalleryla.com for layaway info.

* Listed price does not include shipping fee. Shipping cost will be calculated on an individual basis once address is confirmed. It will be invoiced separately. Shipping will begin at the end of February/early March.

* Art purchases can be mailed most anywhere (see above), picked up in Eagle Rock (Northeast Los Angeles, CA) or delivered if within 10 miles of Eagle Rock, CA.

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