Leon Golub’s powerful paintings present visual images of man’s inhumanity to man, abuse of power, violence, and war. Painted more than thirty years ago, his artwork still resonates in contemporary society despite referencing past conflicts. The graphic images, like White Squad, Interrogation II, and Mercenaries IV and I, reference CIA involvement in Central America, and paramilitary soldiers for hire in Africa and South America. This image of mercenaries taking a cigarette break humanizes perpetrators of violence, bringing them into a frame of reality.

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Image Credit
Feature and Body: Mercenaries IV by Leon Golub, 1980