Brooklyn-born Elbert Joseph Perez re-creates some of the season’s most memorable on-screen pairings in distinctive oil paintings.
By Alicia Pestalozzi
Artwork by Elbert Joseph Perez
“No relationship is without conflict,” Elbert Joseph Perez says. “How one gets through conflict is what is really interesting.” The Brooklyn-based artist leapt at an excuse to binge several of the year’s most acclaimed shows to depict the couples whose interpersonal dynamics push the boundaries of on-screen relationships. The self-taught painter developed his skills by replicating Old Master paintings at night while laboring as a car mechanic by day. He attributes his tendency toward surrealism to the fact that his job forces him to focus on his art late at night or early in the morning. He’s gaining attention for his art: Chozick Family Art Gallery in New York will present a solo show of his work in September. For these new works, Perez applied oil paint to unstretched canvases stapled to the wall. Reminiscent of classic movie posters, the figures clash and collide, bringing the characters to life in all their complexity.
Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart,
“Hacks”
Perez captures the underlying tension between up-and-coming comic writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) and established stand-up Deborah Vance (Jean Smart). To portray the characters’ evolving relationship, he weaves in two crossed swords as well as celestial and astrological motifs, a recurring trope in his work.
Jodie Turner-Smith and
Michael Fassbender,
“The Agency”
In the spy thriller The Agency, Michael Fassbender’s Martian is so intertwined with Jodie Turner-Smith’s Samia that he ignores the CIA’s rule against mixing personal and professional relationships—which leads to suffering for both. Here, Perez illustrates how the things that bind us can destroy us in the end.
Adam Brody and Kristen Bell
“Nobody Wants This”
How do you depict forbidden love? Perez explores the symbolism of the romance between a rabbi (Adam Brody) and a non-Jewish podcaster (Kristen Bell) in the Netflix series Nobody Wants This. Notice the red string chain, referencing an East Asian legend about lovers’ fate, as well as the rose in an unnatural blue, signifying a union with obstacles in its way.
Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw
“Black Doves”
Perez was drawn to the platonic bond at the heart of the thriller Black Doves, which follows Keira Knightley’s Helen and Ben Whishaw’s Sam and their work as part of a covert spy-for-hire organization.
Elbert Perez By
Lara Apponyi
Elbert Perez
is a self-taught artist from Brooklyn, New York, now based in the Hudson Valley. He’s had solo exhibitions at the Rachel Uffner Gallery and Field Projects in New York as well as Jupiter Contemporary in Miami.