Diego Lasansky: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

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Diego Lasansky, Martin Luther, 2014 collage, ink, and pencil on paper, 36 x 32 inches, collection of Ruth and Paul Langehough, L2016.029.
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Diego Lasansky "The Floating World,"
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Diego Lasansky, Self Portrait as Bacchus, 2014, ink and pencil on paper, 53 x 47 inches, courtesy of the artist, L2016.023.
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Diego Lasansky "Portrait of the Artist"

Diego Lasansky: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

April 30, 2016-October 2, 2016

Diego Lasansky, grandson of famed printmaker Mauricio Lasansky, is a painter and printmaker in his own right.  While still a student at the University of Iowa (BFA 2016), his work had already garnered local, national, and international attention.  Prior to his formal college education, Diego Lasansky learned about artistic processes not only from his grandfather, but also from his uncles, three of whom are professional artists.  Growing up within this exceptional artistic milieu allowed the young Diego to learn the masterful techniques he employs.  Lasansky’s work is figurative, and, like his grandfather, tends to focus on subjects readily available to him—such as family members—and those of historical and personal significance, such as Goya, Rembrandt, and Martin Luther.  Early success came to Diego Lasansky in his series Portrait at Eighteen, a set of 50 intaglio self-portraits, each with distinct differences from the rest in the series.  This exhibition at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art was his first solo museum exhibition and coincided with his matriculation with his bachelor of fine arts degree.  It was also accompanied by the first monograph on his work.

This exhibition is made possible by the Hotel-Motel Tax Fund, the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts, members of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and contributors to the Museum’s Annual Fund.