Art lovers are invited to explore the universal themes of migration, belonging and identity portrayed through art during "El Jardin (The Garden)" at Tang Contemporary Art until Aug 26.
Artwork by Studio Lenca. photo courtesy of Tang Contemporary Art
On showcase are 26 oil and acrylic paintings by Studio Lenca, a native of El Salvador currently living in the UK, who regards a garden as a refuge for the marginalised and also a space for flourishing.
The romantic and dramatic elements that make up the garden are presented alongside vibrant plants in free lines and bright colours. His colourful paintings also depict Salvadoran figures dressed in costumes and ornaments that playfully explore masculinity, the colonial past of the country and its current violent discourse.
The recurring motifs of ships and military uniforms hint at the colonial legacy and violence of his home country. These elements, which may seem incongruous, exist in the liminal space between the real and the imaginary where the artist has asserted his identity and confronted his country's past.
The artist's experiences are at the core of the paintings. He explores the materiality of paint and brush marks as a metaphor for his displaced, layered identity.
His work is an affirmation of the internal and external worlds, histories and identities.
Studio Lenca is a pseudonym of José Campos who fled his native El Salvador during the violent civil war in the 1980s. He travelled to the US by land with his mother and grew up as an undocumented illegal immigrant. Eventually settling in the UK, he received a master's from Goldsmiths University of London in 2019. His work is collected and exhibited globally.
Tang Contemporary Art is located at Room 201-206 of River City Bangkok, Charoen Krung 24 and opens Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm.
Visit tangcontemporary.com.
