Spotlight Artist

Luisiana Mera

Northeast
Artist profile photo

Solo un sueño

People holding balloons in front of a grand building with steps and ornate arches.

charcoal on paper mounted on wood

Raspado con Extra Leche Condensada

Hand pouring condensed milk over an ice cream scoop in a cup.

charcoal on paper mounted on wood

Dulce de Cumpleanos

Birthday cake with lit candles and rose decorations

charcoal on paper mounted on wood

Featured in New American Paintings1 / 3

Artist Statement

 As a figurative artist, I am fascinated by capturing fleeting moments. Memories from my childhood in Panama and portraits of friends are grounds to explore the ephemerality that permeates everyday life. A birthday cake, a cartoon, a subtle gesture—subjects that feel impermanent are transformed by the labor of rendering them realistically. My subject matter changes but I always work in series, following an idea to its end. Sometimes I will spend days depicting a single moment that felt unimportant as it passed, trying to savor the tension in memorializing its nature of unrepeatability. I am guided by the hope that this tension will layer itself into my compositions, which are dedicated to the transience of youth, beauty, and the contours of memory.

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