Latina artist Lusmerlin debuts “The Paint Dancer,” a painting technique using her feet. This bold and interactive method tells the story from three lens’: subject, performer and object. It is “a self-portrait of an immigrant body, who chooses to be seen on her own terms,” the painter expresses.
”Lusmerlin: The Paint Dancer” will be on exhibit this Saturday at The Delaplaine Arts Center.
Her dynamic and unprecedented work speaks about womanhood and interrelationships with self and others. Lusmerlin danced with her feet and her work’s evolution will be on display for all to enjoy and be introduced to performing dance paintings.
Read Lusmerlin’s Artist Statement below:
“Pastel Series, I explore the rawness and
immediacy offered by pastels. It delved into self-portraiture, with me posing and dancing. In retrospect, this was an unconscious preparation for the Dance Painting Series.
[READ: From Pastels to Politics: The Lusmerlin Exhibition.]
It‘s difficult to explain the psychological shift… before migrating, I never truly looked at figures or bodies. But I learned that my reality is impacted by how this new cultural and political environment sees my
body and hears my speech: I am an alien. I have inherited labels. I am expected to have certain opinions.
The title of this show, Together Alone, derives from this unique sort of solitude.
I learned to dance with my grandfather, as it was a big element of our family identity. In the Dance Painting Series, I explore my own figure
and bodily motion, by dancing while painting with my feet. Designing my own foot brushes, understanding balance, position and speed… it
has been a challenge to develop an array of paint dancing techniques. Compositional are all made impromptu, influenced by the
music and the moments.”