“I started working on this new series, entitled Requiem, after my visit to Italy in 2019, where I had the opportunity to take a closer look at works of art from the middle ages and early Renaissance. When I was looking at many of the dramatic scenes depicted in these paintings – the martyrdom of the saints, the final judgment, the expulsion from Paradise – I found many analogies with the suffering, death and anguish of people today. In fact, during that visit, I was very moved by the news about the migrants drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, the heartbreaking images of which bore a sad similarity to what has also happened in the Caribbean Sea. Especially in Cuba, the tragedy of migrants continues to be a visceral issue.” – Yoan Capote

Requiem (Samadhi), a striking new addition to Capote's acclaimed series, which he began in 2019, embodies the artist’s signature fusion of poetic imagery and poignant social commentary. This captivating tondo, crafted with gold leaf and embedded with fishhooks and nails, merges spiritual meditation with stark reality, where the sacred and the visceral coexist. Capote began experimenting with fishhooks in 2006, culminating in his first significant fishhook painting in 2010.
Drawing its title from the Sanskrit term Samadhi, denoting a state of profound, all-absorbing contemplation that transcends ego and emotion, this work is an invitation to reflect on the profound mysteries of existence, unencumbered by desire, anger, or any worldly distraction.

The painting’s mesmerising horizon line, shimmering gold, alludes to both the promise and uncertainty that lie at the edge of perception. Here, Capote harnesses the evocative power of the sea—an enduring motif throughout his oeuvre—to explore themes of hope, loneliness, and even fear. The undulating seascape, now enhanced with a material that recalls the opulence of classical art, becomes a contemporary metaphor for the global migrant crises. It speaks to the urgent need for spiritual healing as societies grapple with health, political, and environmental upheaval. The horizon itself, ever elusive, captures the paradox of aspiration and danger, embodying both a call to freedom and a reminder of its perilous cost.

The sea, with its timeless allure and treacherous depths, is a recurring symbol in Capote’s work, informed by his upbringing on the politically isolated island of Cuba. For him, the ocean represents not only a personal yearning for the world beyond but also the universal experience of human struggle and aspiration. In Requiem (Samadhi), the dualities inherent in the sea are laid bare: the painting is at once a sublime meditation on nature's beauty, suffused with a divine golden light, and a stark confrontation with the grim realities faced by migrants. The sharp, gleaming fishhooks embedded in the surface, some still bearing traces of blood, evoke the harrowing journeys undertaken by countless individuals seeking a better life, while also alluding to the dangers that many Cubans have faced on their desperate voyages across the ocean.

The choice of gold leaf situates Requiem (Samadhi) within a broader art historical tradition. For centuries, gold has been used to symbolise purity, divinity, and the transcendent, most notably in early Renaissance art, which deeply influenced Capote during his travels in Florence. As in those sacred depictions, the use of gold here invites contemplation and evokes a sense of the unearthly. Yet, Capote's approach is distinctly contemporary; the gold leaf is not applied to a smooth, polished surface but rather transferred onto layers of thick impasto. This technique enhances the materiality of the work, creating a resplendent play of light across the textured surface, mimicking the shifting, unpredictable nature of the sea itself.

By juxtaposing the resplendent gold with the rawness of fishhooks and nails, Capote confronts the fragility of the ‘golden dream’—that magnetic vision of a better life that draws so many towards a horizon often fraught with unseen perils. The material contrasts embody the precarious balance between aspiration and despair, beauty and brutality, promise and loss. The fishhooks, in particular, act as both literal and symbolic barbs, challenging the viewer to consider the physical and emotional costs associated with migration and displacement.

Capote’s work is underpinned by a reverence for traditional artistic techniques. A classically trained artist, his influences are wide-ranging, encompassing the precision of Edo period Japanese print-making, the dramatic intensity of 19th-century Romantic landscape painting, and the spiritual luminosity of the early Renaissance. In Requiem (Samadhi), he channels these inspirations to reassert the enduring relevance of painting as a universal language that transcends cultural and temporal boundaries. The work not only honours the legacy of these historic traditions but also reinvents them, using the sea as a site for exploring contemporary social issues and spiritual themes.