Lisette Morel
Dominican-American artist, mother, educator and curator
Lisette Morel is not interested in creating a pretty picture or beautiful scenarios, no, she wants more than what has already been defined for herself, for us. She aims to deconstruct and blur boundaries imposed on her body by false hierarchies.
She is searching for the “what if?” moments. It is in the act of…It’s the in-between space, the forbidden areas, that is where the authentic vulnerability occurs, no lies, no pretending. Holding onto faith, Ms. Morel’s ancestors dive in with her, no guarantees, just magical possibilities, truthful acts; tactile and ephemeral connections and exchanges with all energies, spirit, pain, and exhaustion, it is all felt and found in the action.
Whether she is painting, drawing, installing or performing it’s the journey of the action and the uncertainties of the properties and behaviors of the materials; it’s how Ms. Morel responds to the absurdities of this reality.
The works are autobiographical intimate reflections and personal visceral moments in an emotive vortex. Her practice is alchemy and dance with unorthodox materials, casual everyday gestures and found spaces. It is a physical spiritual experience, a situational event and it is performance. For Lisette Morel performative pieces are an extension of her body. While some of the performances express power; they are also fragile; there is a duality. And when she allows the performances to become public or invites the public it’s not her; Ms. Morel prays and in the present she is aware of the Duende... so that her most authentic inner self [emerges].
