Upcoming Events/Exhibition

Oswaldo DeLeon Kantule “Achu” lives in London, Ontario but his art reflects the symbols and themes of his ancestral Kuna Nation from the San Blas Islands of Panama. Achu’s art incorporates elements from daily Kuna life, both the spiritual and real. His art bears a colourful resemblance to Canadian Native Art in the seamless integration of human and animal imagery. Sea turtles are symbols of fertility, long life and eroticism; the snake represents the connection between life and death; then, there is the Hammock which is the centre or the heart of Kuna culture.

Achu first began as a self-taught artist; by 2004 he was the recipient of the prestigious Research Grant from the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of the American Indian. In 2001, he graduated with honours from the University of Panama with a degree in Fine Arts after winning Panama’s National Institute of Culture’s painting competition in 1996. He has exhibited in more than 12 solo shows and several group shows in Canada, the Americas and Europe.