21st-Century Little Red Riding Hood by John Sergio Vélez
Explore Mondoir Studio
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 115 x 150 cm
Year: 2026
Price: $4500.00 USD
Status: available
Little Red Riding Hood is no longer threatened by a predator hiding in the forest, but by forms of power that have become increasingly invisible. The familiar narrative is displaced into a contemporary interior where absence speaks more forcefully than presence, and ordinary objects quietly reveal traces of manipulation, violence, and control. Rather than confronting a visible wolf, the protagonist inhabits a world in which danger has learned to disguise itself within the structures of everyday life. The painting transforms a well-known fairy tale into a reflection on the uncertainties of the present. By questioning where the true predator now resides, it invites the viewer to reconsider the systems, relationships, and illusions that shape contemporary existence. Here, the forest has not disappeared—it has simply changed its form, becoming a landscape that surrounds us while remaining largely unseen
Why collect this work?
By placing a fairy-tale heroine among cinematic and crime-story clues, the painting replaces one recognizable predator with a network of uncertain threats.
- Vélez states that his practice examines reality, perception, identity, and memory. Here, the familiar red hood anchors that inquiry in a story whose moral roles no longer remain clear.
- The supplied reproduction shows the seated figure looking upward, away from the wolf beside her. A hanging coat and hat loom above, while a handgun, cards, dark glasses, jewellery, green papers, and a drink scatter suspicion across the room.
- The documented oil-on-canvas medium supports sharply modelled figures and legible objects against a subdued interior. The strong contrast around the red costume makes the heroine conspicuous, yet not evidently in control.
- The visible “Planet of the Apes” poster complicates the fairy-tale reference with another story of contested human authority. Encountered together, folklore, film, costume, and props make interpretation depend on competing signs rather than a single villain.
About the Artist
John Sergio Vélez
John Sergio Vélez is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: painting. Based in Medellin, CO.
Nationality: Colombian
My artistic work stems from an exploration of the human condition, emotions, and the relationship between reality and perception.
