Lazarides Gallery welcomes Brazilian artist Nina Pandolfo and her new body of work, Feelings, to their gallery exhibition programme. 31 May marks the artist’s launch when her new ‘Spice Angels’ series, overflowing with vibrant colours and patterns on canvas and sculptures, will be unveiled in her first solo show at Lazarides Rathbone and in London.
In Feelings, the popular and expressive wide-eyed girls created by Pandolfo have acquired a mature and confident form in both style and character and are a departure from her little childlike, timid girls with glassy questioning eyes. More sophisticated, with elongated forms, and with a deeper and more contemplative gaze, her new characters appear more beauty-conscious and daring, with plentiful references to the world of fashion. Whilst steering her fictional creations towards a more developed stage, Pandolfo continues to obtain her inspiration from her playful sensitivity and treasured childhood memories.
Talking about her ‘Spice Angels’ Pandolfo explains, “Each one of the girls is more mature and striking, with a strong personality of her own which differs from the others. It isn’t the way it was when we were kids, we all wanted to dress the same way to create the feeling of belonging to the same tribe.” But for the graffiti artist, the age marked on an identity card is meaningless, “Mental age is more important. Girls adopt their own state of mind and are not chained down by time”.
Various inspirational sources such as the history of fashion, Japanese fashion and steampunk art have all contributed to the style and invention of Pandolfo’s girls, some of which are dressed in Lolita outfits and burlesque in corsets and lace and others in science fiction inspired styles, alluding to both a retro and futurist universe. Pandolfo comments, “Fashion on the street is totally free and can be translated as a cry of freedom. I went wild on mixtures, the fusion of the imaginary with the real, romantic with the sensual, amongst many other combinations.”
Lazarides Rathbone, 11 Rathbone Place, W1T 1HR + 44 (0) 207 636 5443
Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 7pm, admission free www.lazinc.com
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