Whitespace Gallery exhibits Melanie-Lou Gritzka-del Villar

Wednesday, 07 November 2007 00:37

Bangkok, Thailand - In the present world of transit and de-territorialisation, where boundaries are shifting and cultures are merging in an increasingly palpable manner, there are a growing number of people who come from a more and more diffused cultural framework. Fixed notions of cultural identity are therefore morphing into more fluid perceptions. Where do we go from here? Will this transformation entail an unprecedented explosion of diversity or will it end in a flattened, homogenized culture? How will this ultimately affect our sense of identity?

Melanie-Lou Gritzka-del Villar is a 25-year old, half German, half Filipina artist who moved to Bangkok from the United Kingdom last year, after receiving a First-Class Degree in Fine Arts. On November 10, 2007, at 7pm., her first solo exhibition in Thailand will open at Whitespace Gallery. It will be on display until December 9, 2007. The exhibition will present five mixed media paintings and one hanging Plexiglas sculpture. The pieces appropriate cultural images, stereotypes, symbols, materials and conceptual dimensions, which are taken out of their usual context and reassembled within a new field of associations. She particularly focuses on the countries that have had a strong influence on her personal life: Thailand, Germany, Spain, England and The Philippines.

Her practice is shaped by the notion of cultural hybridity. She has interpreted her life experiences as an arena where cultural combinations can produce unique and novel senses of self that challenge the traditional concept of fixed cultural identities. The colorful playfulness and occasional kitsch of the work captures the vivid kaleidoscopic nature of cultural expression and delivers the sophisticated conceptual challenge in an accessible and witty package. At the same time, the intricate, significant detail provides a complex field of association that gives the paintings multi-dimensional space for interpretation and meaning.

Visit Whitespace Gallery Room No.260 2nd Floor, Lido Bldg. lock#16, Siam Square Soi 3, Rama 1 Rd. Pathumwan, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330 Thailand E-mail : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Website : www.whitespaceasia.com