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Post by sleepboy on Jun 29, 2011 19:32:36 GMT -8
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Post by LeBasse Projects on Jun 30, 2011 15:06:18 GMT -8
‘Kigurumi’ New Work From Melissa Haslam July 15th – Aug 13th, 2011 Artist reception: Friday, July 15th 7-10p LeBasse Projects :: Chinatown 932 Chung King Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90012 Tel: (213) 621-9988 Los Angeles, CA – LeBasse Projects is proud to announce ‘Kigurumi’ the first major solo exhibition from Australian based artist Melissa Haslam. Haslam returns to Los Angeles with a new body of work exploring her fascination with Kigurumi and drawing on the Melbourne Kigurumi scene. In her paintings, Haslam showcases her delicate color palate of oil portraits consisting of young women in their mid to late teens dressing in Kigurumi street fashion. Originating as a Japanese subculture, Kigurumi participants fashion themselves to resemble stuffed toy animals. Their clothing are usually called “disguised pajamas” are made up of full bodied pajamas with hoods or hats styled after animals or cartoon characters and worn as everyday street wear, as opposed to “costumes”. Haslam’s paintings express her interest in the nature of social role-playing, particularly in fashion. In these latest portraits, Halsam does not portray her figures as an individual, but as a stark representation and critique on social conformity. Here, her subject’s clothing act as a youth rebellion and by allowing a literal escape from the overt sexualization of the female image. About Melissa Haslam Australian painter Melissa Haslam began to focus on her fine art career in 2008 and has already begun to make a name for herself as an emerging artist to watch. Already published in several books including Curvy and Semi-Permanent, Haslam has made the leap from Melbourne, Australia to galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and London, as well as participation in Art Basel Miami. Already a part of the permanent collection of the 21C Museum in Louisville, KY as well as several notable collectors, Haslam is expected to continue her growth in the coming years. Attachments:
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Post by sleepboy on Jul 3, 2011 12:24:23 GMT -8
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Post by chadley on Jul 3, 2011 12:50:18 GMT -8
Excited for this show. Great work.
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Post by LeBasse Projects on Jul 8, 2011 14:51:21 GMT -8
 With Melissa Haslam’s “Kigurmi” exhibition coming up Friday, July 15... I had a chance to catch the artist and have a little Q & A about her show. Kim L: Can you tell us a little about this new body of work? How did you choose the theme for your show? Melissa Haslam: My friend Neil was showing me his photos from a cosplay meetup and when he showed me one of a girl dressed as a kigurumi fox my gut reaction was ‘OMG, I want to paint her!”. Within half an hour we had set up a facebook event and photo shoot and invited all of the fox girl’s kigurumi friends. This was in November 2010 and the photo shoot wasn’t scheduled until late January so I had plenty of time to do some research, sketches, and decide what kind of paintings I wanted to make. I was nervous working with so many people at once, but they did such a great job and were excited to model for the paintings. Q: How is this show different from your last exhibition? A: This is my first time working with real people as models and committing to exploring a single idea for an entire show. Last year I found it difficult to stick to one subject – I managed to do it, but it was difficult for me. This year it came more easily, less forced, and I think that was partly because I was exploring something tangible rather than something from imagination. Q: There’s a lot of focus on women in your work, what is it in particular that draws you to portraying that? A: I think it’s very important that there be paintings that portray females from a female point of view, especially since the art history books and museums tend to be dominated by males who present females from their own perspective, often as an admirer but sometimes an objectifier. In some ways, I’m attempting to restore the balance and communicate my personal beliefs on femininity. Q:What’s an average painting day like for you? A: Wake-up midday, then exercise, breakfast and internet. Then I paint for a while, take a break to walk to the supermarket, then make dinner. Then paint up until 3-4am. I’ll be trying to change this routine after the show and behave more like a normal person. Q: Who/what are your influences? Who are the artists you’re really into right now? A:Melbourne artist Kate Rohde does some amazing sculpture/installations that look like an acidic Baroque cabinet of curiosities. I’ve been inspired to paint some skies for this show by artists such as Jim Thalassoudis and Jason Benjamin. I also love Japanese artists Fuco Ueda and Akino Kondoh for their quirky imagination. |
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Post by LeBasse Projects on Jul 12, 2011 13:08:22 GMT -8
 Friday night in Chinatown! Email me if you want to see the preview... |
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