Marxism (1989)

Painted in 1989, Marxism stands as one of the most impassioned and visually arresting pieces in my New Shades of Old Glory series. Dominated by thick, bold red pigment and adorned with gilded Marshall stars, the work symbolically captures what I perceived as America’s drift toward Marxist and socialist ideologies—an erosion of the very foundations upon which this nation was built.

As an immigrant who arrived in 1978, I was struck by the contrast between America’s promises and the subtle ideological shifts that were unfolding beneath the surface. This flag, rendered with urgency and conviction, was my way of calling attention to what I felt was becoming a quiet transformation: the rise of socialist ideals cloaked in democratic rhetoric.

I created this piece as both a warning and a tribute. A warning against the romanticization of systems that have historically led nations into poverty and repression—systems from which people flee, only to arrive in America and push to remake it in the image of the countries they left behind. And a tribute to the freedoms this country still offers: the freedom to speak, to strive, to bear arms, and to shape one’s own destiny. These are liberties not found elsewhere, and yet they are being undermined by institutions and media that promote utopian views of socialism over the realities of earned opportunity.

I built my life without handouts, relying on grit, vision, and a country that allowed me the space to try, fail, and create. Marxism is more than pigment and canvas—it is a mirror held up to a nation that must ask itself: Are we preserving our republic, or slowly surrendering it?

Wake up, America. The time to reflect is now.