KATES-FERRI PROJECTS is delighted to announce that multidisciplinary artist DELVIN LUGO is the JUNE - JULY, 2024 Artist in Residence.
Bio:
Delvin Lugo attended Maine College of Art where he studied art foundation for two years before moving to NYC to complete his studies at the School of Visual Arts. He's currently a Bronx Museum of Art Aim Fellow and completed the Ucross Residency in WY. Delvin is a grant finalist of the Hopper Prize, and his work has been featured in New American Painting issue #152 and ESSE Magazine #107. His work has been acquired by the Microsoft Art Collection, Fidelity Investment Art Collection, and Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art in China. He lives and works in New York City.
Artist Statement:
I create narrative figurative paintings centering on the themes of home and intimacy within LGBTQ+ community. These works offer scenes where friends are engaged in poetry reading, dancing, and a lover’s embrace. I’m interested in the tension between feelings of belonging and alienation that revolve around the notion of home.
This series began as social engagement projects where I connected with my subjects through social media, followed by video chats, and photoshoots. Compositions of multiple images are collaged and sketched before transferred to canvas. The vibrant color palette draws inspiration from the house colors found throughout the Dominican Republic’s countryside. Realistically rendered figures set against two dimensional surroundings creates a dynamic space within the work.
Most recently I’m painting directly on vintage linens such as tablecloths, pillow cases, and doilies. At closer proximity, details of the embroidery weave their way through the painted figures making the surface appear embossed. In some works the textiles hang off the stretched bars mimicking a tablecloth or curtains becoming sculptural and essential for contextualizing the figures depicted.
Through these paintings I set out to update the family portrait by humanizing my subjects and legitimizing queer homes. Making them visible and affirming their worth is crucial in today’s fragmented and polarized cultural reality.
Follow Artist on Instagram @delvinlugo