Carlos Vega is a painter inspired by history, mythology, and religion, which he uses as a point of departure to explore questions around humanity. His work often incorporates historical documents such as antique ledgers, typed cards from library catalogs, postage stamps, newspapers, and labels into paintings on canvas and sometimes lead, which he then punctures, etches, and paints over. The title of Love in the Time of Covid (2020) updates that of Gabriel García Márquez’s celebrated novel, Love in The Time of Cholera. Employing fantastical images and allegorical iconography—including trees, which the artist associates with life and family—the surreal composition recalls the work of Northern Renaissance painters like Hieronymus Bosch, and draws parallels between the plagues of medieval Europe and the Covid-19 pandemic.