#051 Let The Light In: Delvin Lugo
563 Grand Street, NYC 10002 June 17 - July 20, 2024
KATES-FERRI PROJECTS welcomes June – July 2024 Artist in Residence Delvin Lugo and culminating into his solo exhibition, LET THE LIGHT IN, on view June 17 to July 20, 2024, at The B-Side located at 563 Grand Street, NY 10002 and with an artist reception on Thursday, July 11th from 6-8pm.
During Lugo’s time with the gallery, he dove into his works on linens and tablecloths, encompassing visual explorations of himself and his chosen family in unguarded moments. At times, the figures are inwardly focused on a quiet second in their day, and in others, the portraits are playfully outward, inviting a laugh from an inside joke–quite apropos for Pride Month. Taking slices of inspiration from photography he takes daily; Lugo draws from his own life and experiences. His source materials and the resulting paintings engender vibrancy and tenderness.
The use of laced dollies, embroidered linens, and other domestic setting fabrics as his canvas reinforces the idea of home and family. It suggests that safety and love could be found between not only the painter and his subjects, but also that of his audience. The invitation to the fun and caring spaces creates a sense of belonging. We are all invited to this party in Lugo’s backyard! While treatment of queer folx has gotten better over the years, familial ostracization or social alienation is not uncommon. Loving friends and family (and thrift shops) provide Lugo with their heirloom fabrics, these thoughtful gifts extend the acceptance and acknowledgment to the works’ viewers. The embroidery and lace patterns also produce an unexpected texture on the paintings, giving the works yet another layer for study.
Lugo works in series. In 2021, Early Life in Neon centered around his family photos and a therapeutic leap into his past. In early 2022, the painter shifted his attention to uplifting queer leaders, artists, and activists in his circles. The works on view flip back to Lugo and widen to his circle of trusted family. A focal point in the exhibition is Our Lady of Curtains (2024). Riffing on Catholic Church naming conventions, the artist names a self-portrait of himself wrapped in an orange-stripped curtain, standing nude underneath and in front of a mirror before an altar for his grandmother, who never learned of his queerness. Lugo introduces himself to her through the work, more fully than he could while she was alive. This intimate presentation is representative of the tenor of the exhibition–gentle and direct.
At a time when most artists prefer not to note their inspirations and references, Lugo proudly shares his. The artist looks at living space installations by Whitfield Lovell and painting interiors by Fairfield Porter, early David Hockney, and Edward Hopper. Some influences are nods, like in Giovanni’s Room (2024). Lugo forms an entirely new composition by pulling similar elements from Lora Webb Nichols’s photo of a man lying face down on a couch in a wood-paneled room with a chair and boots. Others are more like an homage, such as the Peep Hole by McDermott and McGough for his sprite-like Gloryhole Family Tree portrait series. While his color palette heralds from his Dominican roots, his artistic heroes are firmly a part of the American Modernist Era.
LET THE LIGHT IN showcases Delvin Lugo’s unique ability to capture the intimacy of his subjects, inviting viewers into spaces of joy, acceptance, and love. By using domestic fabrics as canvases, Lugo weaves a narrative of home and belonging, emphasizing the importance of chosen family and shared moments. Drawing inspiration from a range of artists and personal experiences, Lugo's work is a celebration of queer identity and community.
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.