When Jose Lerma Opposite “Reception of the Grand Condé by Louis XIV” by Jean-Léon Gérôme in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, he was attracted to the figures that had stopped far behind the crowd. Known for his meticulous realism, Gérôme made these small characters with minimal brush strokes, a decision that has influenced Lerma’s work for more than a decade.
LERMA (earlier) exaggerate the scarce quality of the figures and paints portraits in wide parts of acrylic applied with brooms and industrial tools. The new works retain the contrasts of earlier pieces, because well-defined blows over the jute sweeping to form heavy, impasto richels.
Bee Nino Mier Gallery In Brussels, Lerma’s new solo exhibition Bayamonesque presents the highlight of his current style. The title refers to his upbringing in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and how we think about parable. The portraits paint both real subjects and manufactured characters, refer to those who can be banned otherwise to the background, who flood their similarity until what is needed.
The composition of figurative and abstract, the compositions are what LERMA mentions as “the summary of a portrait … The abstract painter in me is mainly attracted to certain people for specific characteristics that can be broken down to their absolute minimum as paintable elements: an expressive cowl, a striking nose, a distinctive form of lippen.”
Bayamonesque can be seen from March 14 to April 17 in Brussels. Find more Van Lerma on Instagram.
