Oil on canvas

30x24"/76x61cm

2020

 

The first painting of the series in which I am exploring the duality and the fragility of character of New York nightlife performers, a big part of my circle. The entertainment industries, especially such intimate ones, are considered the least essential and will open the latest in the pandemic. People who depend on it are left in uncertainty with no financial support for an unpredictable amount of time. I want to use my opportunity to glimpse “backstage” to show the transformational and intimate moments of their lives, the crossing of the threshold between reality and stage character. In doing so, I also hope to give them another form of representation and much needed artistic outlet.

 

This one shows Mel and Fanny Frye, stage characters of the founders and owners of the Slipper Room, a variety and burlesque theater in LES. Before covid, that place became my second home that started my obsession with the art, so I decided to start the series with them as well.