By Australian contemporary artist Lene Makwana.

VENUE:

Jehangir Art Gallery

161-B, M.G. Road, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400001

Timing: 11am to 7pm.

www.lenemakwana.com

An exhibition of Paintings series titled “CONSTRUCTIONS” by Australian contemporary artist Lene Makwana. This show has been inaugurated on Tuesday 13th Nov. 2018 by Mr. Christopher Ellinger, Australian Deputy Consul General, Mumbai in Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai .

THE ARTIST

Lene Makwana is a Perth, Western Australia based mixed media artist born in Norway. Her interest toward art started as a child and was fostered throughout her schooling. She has studied fine art and art history at Einar Granum School of Arts in Norway, Illustration at Kristiania University College in Oslo and has completed her BA Illustration Design from Curtin University in Perth. Leaving Norway, she took with her knowledge of Scandinavian design trends and its characteristic of clean lines and simple colour palettes, and currently works on international and global projects from her studio and gallery in Perth.

Lene’s art is characterised by detailed patterns and tactile surfaces, and she has worked on art and design projects in Norway, India and Australia. Her architectural elements and pattern-work inspired by systems and grids are suitable for a variety of different uses in interiors and aesthetics.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

An exclusive selection of the first twenty artworks in a series of one hundred by Western Australian fine artist Lene Makwana will be showcased at Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai from 13th November to 19th November 2018.

The “Construction” series by fine artist Lene Makwana is a reflection on the artists’ experiences being a Norwegian residing in Perth, Western Australia and with close ties to India. The theme “Construction” is developed from the artists’ exploration of grids and patterns as representations of social construct and identity, and the diptychs (two artworks combined together) address the falling “in between” in various cultures, making the theme of the exhibition relevant in many ways, one being the journey of an immigrant. The diptych is an attempt to introduce and activate the space between the actual artworks, addressing the space and given time where directions change in life.

Lene is a mixed media artist working with paper collages, watercolour paintings and drawing, and she also works with combining digital and traditional tools and mediums. She works with both figurative and abstract art, exploring balance, directions and colours as reflections on personal and cultural identity.

Lene is participating in the Festival of Australia in India 2018 – 2019 with a solo exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai, being the only visual artist from Western Australia to showcase contemporary art from the state during the festival.

Lene Makwana is a Western Australian based visual artist and designer from Norway and she is residing in Perth with her Indian born businessman husband.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

On 18 September 2018 Australia’s High Commissioner to India Her Excellency Ms. Harinder Sidhu, launched Australia Fest – a six month long celebration of Australian culture, involving over 75 events across 20 cities in India.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My art explores the diversity of self, created from living between three diverse cultures. I am Norwegian, and live in Australia with my Indian husband, and I have encountered many differences but also similarities between the cultures of these three countries and are inspired by how my sense of self has grown being a part of all of them. Being present within, but also being between cultures has given me an opportunity to embrace certain aspects of each whilst growing and enriching my own sense of self. I am fortunate to be able to speak from this perspective, and find that it enriches my art, and pushing it beyond colour and shape. My work is also a channel for reflection and explorations on inner levels.

The “Construction” series, which is a body of work in progress, address aspects of personal, cultural and social construction of identity through the impact of globalisation. The series will be completed when I reach 100 pieces, and the body of work has led me to focus on abstract imagery rather than figurative, as working with abstract elements gave me more freedom to explore than what figurative elements could. With the explorations of abstract elements, the diptych became a way to introduce aspects of time and space into my work.

My Scandinavian background has for my work resulted in balanced and clean compositions, and with limited colour palettes. It is important for me to keep an open and intuitive approach to my work, where small and sharp-edged details are combined with soft surfaces and textures as a result of my preferred mediums; watercolours and inks.

——–Abhishek Dubey(PRO)