Alan Serna contra: Daniel Lezama

Daniel Lezama is yet another mexican artist, whose work revolves around the construction of elaborate narratives. Lezama unlike Edgardo however, is all about the body. His figures have a definite weight and humanity to them that allows the viewer to approach the work with confidence.

Lezama's Paintings are not necessarily erotic, but at times can be very sexual.Often his characters will be partially or fully nude, which I feel adds to the humanity I mentioned earlier. While there is often play with the scale of the figure (colossal in comparison to their environment) there is no idealization, or at least in ways that might be expected. I noticed that his characters are rarely thin, but are not excessively heavy either, just a bit over average, but extraordinary in their own light.

The lighting on the figures consistently spectacular. Shifts in lighting or the lack thereof can really change the dynamism of a piece. Another aspect that I love about Lezama's work is his treatment of the skin. Lezama's characters are decorated magnificently a variety of things from body paint to blood. The figure is cloaked in a second skin but the form retains its power, with the added ability of enhanced storytelling. Not only is the character telling a story but so is it's skin! These paintings are anything but superficial.

The obvious connection between our works is narrative, but where I use objects in conjunction with my characters to tell stories, Daniel Lezama uses the whole body in various layers. The bar has been set folks.