The Power of Community Shapes Space in Aliza Nisenbaum’s Portraits

Aliza Nisenbaum’s exhibition *Altanera, Preciosa y Orgullosa* at LA’s Regen Projects showcases her vibrant, socially-engaged paintings featuring dancers from Latino communities. The Mexico-born artist spent time with Los Angeles’ folkloric dance troupes during the COVID-19 lockdowns, later returning in 2023 to photograph and paint them during rehearsals and behind-the-scenes. Nisenbaum vividly portrays the cultural richness of folklórico, mariachi, and other local dance forms, often with fantastical and abstracted backgrounds that blur the edges of reality, mimicking the rhythms and emotions of the performances.

One notable piece is *La Bruja*, referencing a dance from Veracruz where women balanced candles on their heads for fishermen husbands, evoking mysticism and fluid movement. In this work and others, Nisenbaum creates environments where solid spaces seem to dissolve, reflecting her earlier explorations in abstraction. This technique emphasizes the dancers’ movement and breaks down the certainties of physical space, reflecting both cultural mythologies and the realities of these individuals’ lives.

Nisenbaum’s talent for portraiture extends beyond individual likenesses: she integrates intricate details of dancers’ handmade costumes and captures their energy and pride. Works like *Atanera, Preciosa y Orgullosa* create dynamic compositions of color, fabric, and movement, while pieces like *Shine Arm Styling on 1* experiment with spatial dislocation by positioning dancers among skewed barres and blurred outlines, placing memory, movement, and community at the heart of her visual exploration.

Nisenbaum, who regularly engages with the communities she portrays, granted a special opening performance for the dancers depicted in the paintings, further demonstrating her commitment to a social practice rooted in mutual respect and collaboration. Her exhibition continues to push the boundaries of portrait painting, adapting the genre to reflect and celebrate the vibrant, yet often overlooked, cultural tapestry of Latino communities in Los Angeles.