Larusa is a 21-year-old abstract artist whose work carries intense color, physical brushwork, and a distinctive sense of movement. His practice grew through a supported process of recovery, focus, and creative resilience.
A Difficult Turning Point
On March 17, 2023, when Larusa was 18, he experienced a neglect incident at ASGL High School. After school, he did not come out through the school gate. He was later found in a school storage area with broken desks and chairs. The incident involved a lack of supervision by staff responsible for his care.
After the incident, Larusa, a non-communicator, experienced painful behaviors including cutting and chewing paper, self-harm, locking doors, refusing school attendance and classroom entry, sleepless nights, coloring only in black crayon, avoiding water and eye contact, and repetitive behaviors. He was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. For his safety, his doctor recommended a temporary extended absence from school, and his mother began supporting art activity as a form of color therapy.
The First Work
For three months, Larusa would not sit at the table and watched the art tutor only from the side. Then, suddenly, he spent three hours coloring a fish with a dot painter and completed his first artwork in November 2023.
During painful sleepless nights, Larusa began to greet the morning through his own hours of free and creative artmaking.
A Safer Studio
In December 2023, a Regional Center manager understood the difficulty Larusa was experiencing with school attendance and supported his art activity. After deciding that outside art programs in Koreatown were not safe enough for him, his mother remodeled an indoor space for his work.
The studio was prepared with a large easel for collaborative work with professionals, a wood-built double wall for window safety, ceiling lighting for additional support, and other improvements for Larusa’s safe working environment. In that space, his colorful and free-spirited palette began to shine through gemstone surfaces.
Painting And Light
By March 2026, four months after he began brush painting, Larusa’s canvas works started to carry a refined light even in pieces without gemstones.
In May 2026, at age 21, Larusa’s abstract painting is defined by the force of his whole body, concentrated color, dynamic brush touch, and his own sensuous visual structure.
Focus, Joy, And Support
The concentration often associated with developmental disability became a source of light in Larusa’s life, helping him endure years of painful PTSD trauma. His emotional artmaking time transformed into singing, laughter, and visible joy.
With support from the Regional Center and teachers across several fields, Larusa continues to draw out creative colors and refine his own artistic world.
At times, Larusa works for more than ten hours. His gemstone works filled the studio, enough to require storage. As the number of works grew, the colors became more varied and sometimes experimental, and those hours made Larusa happy.
DDANS Art Foundation
On May 17, 2026, DDANS.ORG, a nonprofit art foundation supporting developmental disability artists, is pleased to introduce Larusa through an exhibition and a wider support program. DDANS looks forward to working with more artists, and every act of support will be used meaningfully for their art activities.
“I like the way your heart chooses differently from other people. I really do. Thank you. I want to keep seeing your work.”
Larusa’s mother