Lomangino is a graphic designer and painter. Her new exhibit, “Juxtapositions,” features quirky representations of historical figures and appears at the Piola Restaurant in Arlington until Sept. 4.
What is “Juxtapositions” about?
This series is humorous. I actually created this series for the Piola show because the environment is very bright and lively and I didn’t want to have all my very serious work in there. I thought it would be interesting to take an element from a different time period and place it with a historical figure. I have Anne Boleyn, for instance, with her hand on her hip doing the Beyonce pose, “put a ring on it.”
How did you get the idea for the exhibit?
Part of it was trying to think of something that was a little more fun for the Piola exhibit. And I love painting faces and people. I turned to historical figures, but put a different twist on it.
How did you get started in art?
I started painting when I was 16. My mother painted a bit and I just picked up a brush and started painting one day. … I started again in a big way the past couple years. I started just shutting the door every weekend and painting.
What do you like about painting?
What I enjoy the most is making a connection with the subject I’m painting and with the person who will be looking at that piece of artwork. It’s a form of communication. When I started painting, I was very shy and it was my way of expressing myself.
What challenges do you face as an artist?
I think the biggest challenge is having enough time to do it right now. The other challenge is actually being able to make a living from it.
— Emily Babay
