2018, Aliza Nisenbaum, Mis guatro gracias (Brendan, Camilo, Carlos, Jorge) (detail) -- Hirshhorn Museum (Washington)
From the museum label: Initially an abstract painter, Aliza Nisenbaum discovered her interest in portraiture while working at an organization supporting immigrants in New York. Like many earlier artists in this gallery, such as Alice Neel and Ben Shahn, she depicts members of her community, focusing on often-overlooked people at society's margins. This painting portrays four dancers whom Nisenbaum met in a salsa group that gathers weekly at a downtown New York club, forming a temporary community around music and dance regardless of age, nationality, or sexual orientation. Titled Mis cuatro gracias, meaning "my four graces," this work expands the traditional motif of the Three Graces of Greek mythology--goddesses often depicted holding hands in a dance--into a powerful image that speaks to body awareness, queerness, and social inclusion.
2018, Aliza Nisenbaum, Mis guatro gracias (Brendan, Camilo, Carlos, Jorge) (detail) -- Hirshhorn Museum (Washington)
From the museum label: Initially an abstract painter, Aliza Nisenbaum discovered her interest in portraiture while working at an organization supporting immigrants in New York. Like many earlier artists in this gallery, such as Alice Neel and Ben Shahn, she depicts members of her community, focusing on often-overlooked people at society's margins. This painting portrays four dancers whom Nisenbaum met in a salsa group that gathers weekly at a downtown New York club, forming a temporary community around music and dance regardless of age, nationality, or sexual orientation. Titled Mis cuatro gracias, meaning "my four graces," this work expands the traditional motif of the Three Graces of Greek mythology--goddesses often depicted holding hands in a dance--into a powerful image that speaks to body awareness, queerness, and social inclusion.