Internationally acclaimed artist Nina Pandolfo brings her signature style to the prestigious JD Malat Gallery, London

Flow by Nina Pandolfo

Gratitude
Opening: 8th November 2019

I create with my soul, I let [my] ideas flow…

JD Malat Gallery is proud to present their first solo exhibition by internationally recognised artist Nina Pandolfo, best known for the wide-eyed characters who inhabit her fantastical canvasses and graffitied murals worldwide.

Opening on the 8th of November 2019, Gratitude is a joyful celebration of life and the kaleidoscopic emotions associated with being ‘grateful’. “So many people say that they are grateful for something but don’t live the feeling, they just go through the motions”, Pandolfo says, “[when painting] the strongest thing is the feeling, the feeling is what makes my heart beat faster and my eyes smile as I put it on the canvas…the sound of life, the sound of freedom, the sound of gratitude and simplicity.”.

This exhibition, a project that has been over a year in the making, is closely connected with Pandolfo herself – a reflection of her personal experiences and the vibrantly multicultural world around her. Heavily inspired by women who embrace and embody different cultures, the women in her works are greater than their race-specific traits and instead are more universal. One thing unites these women, their strength and delicacy which form an integral role in Pandolfo’s signature style.

Through Gratitude Pandolfo presents a Universe with no negativity, instead viewing the world around her with a dichotomy of childlike innocence and adult awareness that is so prevalent within her works; displaying the same fascination and enchantment that a child feels whilst discovering something new, and revelling in the small details. Pandolfo’s golden universe includes animals, such as the flamingo in Gratitude, who present an anthropomorphic view of what it truly means to be ‘grateful’. This symbolism, sometimes only discovered once a work is completed, brings each canvas to life, with new layers slowly revealing themselves to the viewer upon further reflection.

Born in 1977, Nina Pandolfo grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, drawing and painting from a young age before discovering graffiti and fully dedicating herself to art at just 14 years old. A student of Visual Communication, Pandolfo followed her bliss in the search for new media and creative freedom, and began tagging on the streets of São Paulo, soon becoming an integral part of the Brazilian graffiti scene in the 90’s and pioneering the way for the more widespread inclusion of graffiti in Museums and Galleries.

Since her first exhibition at the age of 22 (a collective show with the Funarte National Arts Foundation) , Pandolfo has exhibited internationally to incredible success whilst still creating monumental urban projects for Public spaces. One particularly notable commission was a collaboration with Os Gemeos, and Nunca in 2007 to paint the façade and turret of the 800-year-old Kelburn Castle – an endeavour so successful that this ‘temporary’ project was named one of the Top 10 Examples of Street Art by Tristan Manco in 2011 and protected for future generations.

With Gratitude, JD Malat Gallery is proud to announce its exclusive representation of Nina Pandolfo throughout the United Kingdom.

JD Malat Gallery is one of London’s most exciting galleries, showcasing a broad spectrum of international artists and working closely with both private clients and public institutions worldwide. A bastion of taste, eponymous founder Jean-David is often cited as ‘one of the most well -connected men in London’, internationally recognized as a curator and prominent art dealer. Through his vast experience, JD has discovered, promoted and established over a dozen formerly-unknown artists, launching his Mayfair Gallery in June 2018 to great acclaim.

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www.jdmalat.com