Lee Waisler is a Los Angeles-based artist who paints arresting portraits of iconic figures using a rich variety of materials.
For this exhibition, Waisler presents a global group of individuals from diverse disciplines, eras and origins. Among his subjects are renowned artists, literary giants and Hollywood luminaries such as Frida Kahlo, Gertrude Stein and Charlie Chaplin, alongside influential figures of social change, including Israeli leader Moshe Dayan and teenage Pakistani education advocate Malala Yousafzai. Each of these portraits is a reminder of how a single individual can change the way society thinks.

This new series marks a stylistic departure, as Waisler tests the boundaries of recognition and explores new perspectives by elongating his subjects’ features to shadow-like proportions. Stretched to near distortion, his portrait of Vincent Van Gogh is still immediately recognizable thanks to the familiar red beard and deep-set eyes. This skillfully plays to Waisler’s idea of “re-membering,” his practice of deconstructing, remembering and then reconstructing his subjects’ likenesses. 547 West 27thstreet, NYC

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