Art Meets Shine: Fitness and creativity come together in a unique immersive environment!
Shine Fitness is mostly known as a premier aerial and pole studio in Las Vegas, but since we're always looking to innovate, we decided to bring a new kind of artistry to our space! We are dedicating an area at Shine to exhibit the breathtaking paintings of Benjamin Lerman, an incredible visual artist who also happens to be a versatile acrobat and entrepreneur. Known for capturing the essence of circus performers in his artwork, Ben’s paintings portray the grace, strength, and storytelling that define acrobatic performances in an almost out of worldly way, so they're definitely a perfect fit to showcase at our Studio!
Meet the Artist
Benjamin Lerman is a Las Vegas based oil painter and circus artist. His paintings, which primarily showcase circus artists and dancers, are primarily created in the style of surrealism, which has led to the coining of the term "Cirque-realism". Originally from Arizona, he currently resides in Las Vegas, where he works out of his home studio. His work has been featured in multiple galleries on the Las Vegas strip, including Park West Gallery and Richard Marc Galleries at Caesars Palace and Planet Hollywood, and commissioned by One Night for One Drop, Imagined by Cirque Du Soleil. Ben is also an accomplished performer whose career highlights include Season 10 of America's Got Talent, a residency at Circus Circus Las Vegas, guest performances at Extravaganza at Bally’s Hotel and Casino, and multiple international touring shows and productions. In addition, Benjamin works as an Aerial Performance Director for RWS Global, onboard MSC cruise lines and runs a Las Vegas based Live Entertainment Company.
5 Questions with Benjamin Lerman
- Why have your artwork displayed in Shine Fitness Pole & Aerial Studio? Shine was one of the first places that took me in and made me feel like Vegas; the performance community was my home. It was where I met many of the subjects of my work as well had some of my first performance opportunities manifest. It seems only fitting that it should serve as a home for my artwork.
- Your background is in acrobatics and hand balancing, what inspired you to start painting and how does your experience as a performer influence your artwork?
Art and illustration was my first passion. I actually started working at Shine as a graphic designer in my early 20's, in exchange for studio space so that I could train. I was just getting started back then in the world of performance art. Shine was one of the first places where I was able to witness high level acrobats training up close. I had dabbled in figurative work and anatomy in the past, my childhood love of graphic novel art led me to study the human body. Seeing the incredible shapes, lines and forms that cirque artists were able to create inspired me to start drawing them. Equally fascinating to me were the stories behind the performer. Each artist seemed to have a story that led them to this beautiful culmination of movement and aesthetic, from the way they wore their hair, the apparatus they chose, the music, it all came together so perfectly, and I wanted to capture those moments.
- What mediums and techniques do you prefer to use in your art?
I mainly work with pencil/ graphite for my sketches and oil paint for my paintings. I was doing quite a lot of digital painting before the emergence of AI generated art. But currently I am only working with traditional mediums. I feel strongly that the artists who have worked so hard on their technique and presentation should be represented with mediums that also take dedication, technical understanding and refinement.
- Do you hope to leave a message through your art or is it more a form of self-expression?
What emotions do you want people to feel when they see your paintings? I have my own personal reasons for creating the images that I do. There is a hidden message behind every piece. However, I feel if I shared those messages too boldly, it would defeat the purpose. All art is subjective, and as much as I know why I create each image, I am always eager to learn about what others find and see in them. When a person is able to understand what I am trying to communicate, without me needing to use words, I know I have done my job well. I encourage anyone looking at my work to look for those messages, and I am always happy to have a conversation with someone to see what they see and share what I saw. That being said, most of my work does have an underlying theme of interconnected-ness and self expression. Many of my works explore a specific emotion or philosophical concept.
- Being so involved in the entertainment industry, is only logical many of your pieces depict circus artists in motion. Is there a theme or subject you're interested in exploring but haven't got to do it yet?
I have a laundry list that is nearly a mile high of types of performers, themes, and concepts I want to explore. I'm interested in the fusion of the body and the movement type of choice or even artistic pursuit of choice, I may move to other types of artists in the future, I have some ideas for example of fusing musicians with their instruments.
This collaboration between Shine Fitness and Ben Lerman celebrates movement in all of its manifestations, and as Shine continues to encourage and help aerialists, pole dancers, hand balancers and other circus artists develop their talents and train their incredible skills in our regular classes and Training Camps, having Ben's pieces displayed as a visual tribute to the world of circus arts not only serves as a source of inspiration, it also creates a one of a kind immersive environment! If you're not in Vegas and want to check out more Ben's work online, you can go to his website https://www.thedreamingcanvas.com/ or follow him on Instagram , but if you are in Sin City then you can visit our Studio at 6415 S Tenaya Way STE 100, Las Vegas and find out first hand what happens where strength meets creativity!