ARTIST TALK @ WOMAN MADE GALLERY -CHICAGO-June 18,2011-,2.00 pm onwards

laura kina and me collaborated in 2008 on a two woman show tited INDIGO, which has travelled India and US in five different cities and more to go. We are both invited by Woman Made gallery- Chicago to share our collaborative experience as transnational artists
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=176711995720865

Press and Pictures from Indigo @ Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts in Miami

May 14, 2011 laura kina and I traveled to Miami, FL for the opening of our show Indigo. This is the 5th stop for the exhibition. In 2009-2010 the show traveled in India and in 2011, we started touring the show in the US. It was wonderful to catch up again in person and I certainly don't mind Miami's sunny weather! The DLF Project Room features work by an artist from Philadelphia - Caroline Lathan-Steiefel. Here are some installation shots of our work at Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts as well as two press items that came out this week from El Nuevo Herald and Art Circuits.

                                          May 22, 2011 review in Miami's El Nuevo Herald

5/22/11 review in Miami's El Nuevo Herald

(translated from Spanish to English)

Indigo’s Journey
The color blue is enduringly associated with our common repertoire: navy blue, blue jeans, the blues, all of which share the controversial history of indigo. This natural dye from India figured prominently in United States history of the 17th century, when indigo plantations proliferated to satisfy the European hunger for the desired shade.

Two centuries later, indigo returned to India, and Bengal became the main producer in the world. Later, the discovery of a synthetic process would set indigo on a new course.

Indigo: Laura Kina and Shelly Jyoti, is the title of the traveling exhibition now presented at Diana Lowenstein. The show creates a visual parallel between indigo’s journeys and the its cultural influence. The exhibition is composed of numerous crafted works such as embroidery on khadi and Sanskrit calligraphy.

The work of Shelly Jyoti, who lives and works in Vadodara, India, consists of study into the survival of this tradition in India, passed down from generation to generation. Meanwhile, Laura Kina, who lives and works in Chicago, relies on the multicultural symbology associated with indigo, which the artist acquired on multicultural Devon Avenue in Chicago.

The result is an emerging poetry which, through indigo, allows us to travel by Japanese Kasuri textiles, boro patchwork quilts, Jewish tzitzi-inspired tassels and, of course, blue jeans.

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF SOUTH ASIAN ARTS

http://www.acsaa.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=673:miami-jyoti&catid=9&Itemid=38

UPCOMING EVENTS-MAY -JUNE 2011

Exhibition-Two Person Show
INDIGO-Works by Shelly Jyoti & Laura kina
May14- June30
Diana Lowenstein Gallery
2043 North Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33127-4913, United States
(305) 576-1804 www.dlfinearts.com

Lecture /workshop / conversation
May 23, 2010 11.20am -2.40pm
Artist Talk/slide presentation
‘Collaborations: Transnational Artists’
Asian American Center,
Deepaul University, Chicago
2.40-5.00 pm
Workshop –Traditional Indian Artforms

June 18th/ArtistTalk / conversation /slide presentation 2-5pm
‘Transnational Artistic Collaboration’
WomanMade gallery
685 N Milwaukee ave,
Chicago IL 60642
Tel: 312 738 0400
www.womanmade.org

ARTXCHANGE GALLERY SEATTLE U.S Installation

INDIGO @ ARTXCHANGE GALLERY SEATTLE U.S January 6-February26,2011

Indigo by Laura Kina and Shelly Jyoti


Opening First Thursday January 6, 2011
ArtXchange Gallery presents Indigo, a traveling exhibition previously exhibited in major cities throughout India and now crossing to the US, January 6 through February 26, 2011. The exhibition presents complementary bodies of artwork by Indian artist Shelly Jyoti and US artist Laura Kina in a range of media including hand-embroidery on khadi fabric, Sanskrit calligraphy and mixed-media on canvas. The narrative threads running throughout the artists’ work evoke India’s colonial history, stories of immigration, and the tensions and transformations of cultures evolving in a globalized world.


Shelly Jyoti’s Indigo Narratives use indigo dyes, traditional heritage symbols, Sanskrit calligraphy, and tribal embroidery. Her work uses textile techniques and icons specific to different cultural groups throughout India’s history, exploring how preservation or flux of craft traditions can illustrate historical migrations, conflicts, and politics of power and control. Jyoti also uses symbols referencing the life of Mahatma Gandhi and literary texts such as Neel Darpan, a revolutionary play essential to the Indigo Revolt, an uprising of indigo farmers that arose in Bengal in 1859. Jyoti is a visual artist, fashion designer, poet, researcher and independent curator based in Vadodara, India.

Laura Kina’s Devon Avenue Sampler series focuses on imagery from the immigrant neighborhood in which she lives. Devon Avenue is a Chicago South Asian/Jewish corridor which boasts two honorary street titles - Gandhi Marg and Golda Meir Blvd. Her samplings of Devon Ave.’s poly-cultural street signs are created using indigo dye, khadi fabric, a generous dose of Gujarat-style mirrored bling and Jewish tzitzit inspired tassels. Kina is an Associate Professor of Art, Media and Design, Vincent de Paul Professor, at DePaul University. Her Devon Avenue Sampler series is funded in part by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and a University Research Council Grant from DePaul University.