José Lerma's artwork serves to highlight the often overlooked bystanders in society through highly stylized, minimalistic portraits. His series 'Bayamonesque' showcases profile paintings that draw from historical influences like Jean-Léon Gérôme, but also embraces the fluidity of modern art movements. Working rapidly with a unique medium blend, Lerma seeks to capture the immediacy of sketching while evoking a primal interaction with his textures. This body of work marks the culmination of a years-long exploration into identity and witnessing, ultimately reflecting the dualities of presence and absence in contemporary life.
In a world filled with noise, José Lerma presents silent witnesses, showcasing their essence in stylized faces that balance representation and abstraction.
Lerma's profile paintings, influenced by neoclassical traditions and the Bay Area Figure Movement, embody a rapid, immediate creation process, resonating with the essence of quick sketches.
By drawing from the sparse brushstrokes of Gérôme and the impasto of Bogart, Lerma hyper-stylizes figures into simplified forms that invite tactile interaction.
Bayamonesque symbolizes a culmination of Lerma's artistic journey over the years, merging influences to craft a definitive exploration of identity and expression.
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