Daniel Maidman | Muses: Part 1. Manou

Jenn Singer Gallery presents Daniel Maidman | Muses: Part 1. Manou, a solo exhibition of new drawings by Brooklyn-based artist and published author, Daniel Maidman, best known for his figurative works on paper.

Many models have sat for Daniel Maidman throughout the years, but there are a select few he returns to again and again, drawing their nude figures with perfect ease and accuracy. He carefully selects and highlights parts of their bodies and captures the light reflecting off their skin in new ways each opportunity he has to work with them.

Manou is one of the muses who appears often in Maidman’s work, having drawn her for many years since meeting in a popular life drawing workshop in New York City. Manou is a trained dancer, which becomes obvious when one sees her body on paper as depicted by Maidman, showing off her definition of muscle, posture and lines.

When discussing his work with Manou, Daniel Maidman explains that she is inspiring because she “expresses her personality in every part, in every form and gesture. One does not draw the body as a thing. One draws a person.” Manou's ability to communicate who she is through modeling has increased over time, an eloquence Maidman is able to put back into his drawings of her...

“Manou is very tall and beautiful, but what makes her appearance remarkable is the degree to which her body reflects a set of intentions and choices. Because she is so passionate about dance, she has devoted much of her life to classes and rehearsals. This practice has transformed her body into an elegant machine, a machine which she has constructed and which is under her command. Her mastery of herself as a physical phenomenon inspires a corresponding rigor in the artist-as-observer – to see clearly, to describe truthfully.”

The Manou drawings by Daniel Maidman are available via Artsy (artsy.net/jenn-singer-gallery), and in-person viewings can be arranged by appointment via Jenn Singer Gallery (info@jennsingergallery.com).