Unlike some other prominent artists working with more seamless urban camouflage in strange or offbeat settings, this work in NYC by Trina Merry allows for curves and distortions, and operates with the interplay between painted nudes in more public and iconic surroundings.
In this series, her work features backdrops that are prominent points of interest and world-famous landmarks of New York City, from famous architecture and infrastructure (the Guggenheim Museum, Empire State Building and Brooklyn Bridge) to urban and organic landscapes (like Coney Island and Central Park).
Thanks to the prominence of these locations, this colorful work naturally becomes a live spectacle beyond the sculptural photographs taken of the models in place.
Other body paintings by Trina range from referential to abstract, with blank black or white backgrounds in some cases and period or modern artwork in others.
From the artist: “my surface is living, breathing human beings, making this a highly relevant & immediate. I use non-toxic hypoallergenic paint applied with a brush or airbrush. the painting is temporary like a Tibetan sand painting, beginning to [shift] into another work as soon as I stop painting, changing texture and color.”
