"Melissa Dadourian: Awakening"
2004-03-19 until 2004-04-18
Holland Tunnel
Brooklyn, NY, USA United States of America

Holland Tunnel is pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings and video by Melissa Dadourian. There will be an opening reception for the artist on Saturday, March 20, from 3 to 5 pm. In her first project for Holland Tunnel, Dadourian presents painting and video. Exploring aspects of identity and self-perception as culturally learned beliefs, the work deals with the interplay between revealing and veiling, seesawing between the two.

Dadourian innocently wanders through images of female figures from 70s Playboy magazines, seen as an adolescent, that serve as inspiration for the paintings. From these magazines surface early memories and dreams about erotic images of the female, intended for the male gaze, which were burned into a girl’s mind. In the paintings, hair, breasts and curves are fragmented reflections in motion, not complete but only a fleeting visualization. With a delicate and searching line, the artist traces the edges of the figure in paint, layering them one on top of the other, overlapping image and memory.

The uninhibited characters in the videos, “Adventure with Kitty,” “Putting on Nylons,” and “Passion Promise” buy themselves a diamond ring, pull on nylons and dance to a non-existent audience. Her characters embrace the awkwardness of self-awareness as they satisfy their own wants and desires.

Melissa Dadourian received her MFA from Hunter College in 1995. She has exhibited Internationally and New York. The artist lives and works in New York City.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of New York

Other Important Exhibitions in United States