Midnight Mezzanine

By Marse Rusk

Prismacolor pencils on bristol paper

33” x 18.9”

Interested in this piece? Reach out to livinglese@chicagofineartsalon.com for inquiries.

My work is shaped by lived experiences and an evolving understanding of my non binary identity as it navigates through the queer community.  Our identities evolve and transform. The essence of my work  is to respond to these changes.  Is your physical being what constitutes your personhood? Do we wear our bodies like a garment over our anima? I’m interested in exploring these questions by treating the figure as a vestigial form, highlighting fragments in the process of metamorphosis.


My piece “Midnight Mezzanine” begins with the scene of many identities on display; The play is about to begin as the clock strikes the midnight hour. You sit within the audience of the mezzanine. It is an invitation to the viewer to look behind the curtain, revealing the beauty and strange creatures that lie just beyond your reach. The largest figure is shown with a crown of thorns on his head, top surgery scars atop his chest as a mark of pride, he cherishes himself and holds love in his heart and breathing flesh. The other creatures are mixes between satyrs and nymphs, witches and knights, all with consideration to their ultimate desires, they are in harmony with the environment and with each other in pure bliss. This piece is a love letter to my adoration of theater and the magical beings of occult worlds. It is also my own personal twist on a classical renaissance composition.

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circa 1943

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