Artist Aliza Nisenbaum’s Volunteer Work Led Her to Make Bold, Empathetic Portraits of Immigrants. Who Says Painting Can’t Be Political?
To pay attention to someone can be a political act,” Aliza Nisenbaum says quietly. For the last four years, the artist has been painting portraits of undocumented immigrants (mostly from Mexico and Central America) in New York City, giving recognition and dignity to individuals who are often obliged to live in the shadows. Her work, in which sensitively rendered figures appear in brightly patterned, semiabstract settings, caught the attention of Whitney Biennial curators Christopher Lew and Mia Locks, and will appear in the exhibition next month. “She’s clearly not painting people she finds on Facebook,” says Lew. “There’s a real back and forth that happens between painter and subject because they know each other so well.”
This story is from the February 2017 edition of Vogue.
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This story is from the February 2017 edition of Vogue.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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