The Museo de Arte Moderno in Gómez Palacio to host Jackie Sleper's exhibition dedicated to Mexico

From 3 July to 25 August 2008, the Museo de Arte Moderno in Gómez Palacio, Durango Mexico, will host "Dulce y Amargo", Jackie Sleper's touring exhibition inspired by, and dedicated to, Mexico and the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Gómez Palacio is the third Mexican location to host the "Dulce y Amargo" exhibition and forms part of a tour that the famous Dutch artist will be showing in various Mexican towns throughout 2008 and 2009, all being curated by Matty Roca, art historian, museum curator and art critic. The first two exhibitions were held at the Museo de la Cultura Maya in Chetumal in March and April of this year and in May-June at the Museo de la Isla in Cozumel, both of which were considered to be a huge success. Manuel Ramírez López, Director of the Casa de Cultura, where this next exhibition is to take place, has said that he is honored to be hosting Mrs Sleper’s exhibition.
The artist will be present at the opening of "Dulce y Amargo" at the Museum of Modern Art of Gómez Palacio on the evening of 3 July, along with important local personalities from the political, cultural and educational scene in Mexico and from the Dutch community living in the state of Durango.

Jackie Sleper, the winner of the section “Sculpture and Installation” at the Florence Biennale 2007, has always been fascinated by Mexico and the artist Frida Kahlo, for whom she has a profound admiration. In 2005, she received an invitation from Matty Roca to depict her vision of Mexico and over the course of two years Jackie Sleper, together with her husband and children, spent many months in the country, about which she says that: “I took in everything around me, spoke with lots of people and, in particular, got a sense of the country. My previous love of Mexico only grew stronger.... Over the next two years my work will be travelling to various museums in Mexico – something I would never have dared dream of as a child. I feel like I am on top of the world. This is the link that completes the chain."

Her works are at times reminiscent of a variety of artists: Rivera, Orozco, Tamayo and Pollock. Jackie Sleper assumes absolute freedom in applying various techniques and introducing experimental elements: her work is characterised by combinations of photography and painting, and the use of mixed media. In addition to painting, Jackie also creates objects using a variety of materials, which she then transforms into wholly a new and surprising entity. The artist allows all her work to be guided by a profound sense of humanity, and she is an artist in the truest sense of the word: her work has always been grounded in her exploration of the human existence and its significance.

Matty Roca: “I have been able to witness Jackie Sleper’s development – as a photographer, painter and sculptor – at first hand. Every painting is an intensely personal creation and expression, presenting the world as she perceives it. She is sensitive, intense, mysterious and subtle, but also possesses a strong personality, conveying this in her paintings with exceptional clarity, so that she is comprehensible for one and all.”

Jackie Sleper was born in Amsterdam and studied at the Utrecht Academy for Visual Arts. Between 1988 and 1995 she spent time in Ireland, Spain and Prague for study purposes. Works produced in her home country, the Netherlands, include a tile plateau in honour of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, commissioned by the municipality of Utrecht, and ‘light objects’ for the Kruisheren Hotel, a design establishment that opened in Maastricht in 2005. Outside the Netherlands, she has exhibited in Antwerp (Art-Event), Stockholm (Art Fair), Marbella (Marb Art – Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo), Geneva (Europ’Art), Klagenfurt (Biennale Austria), Salzburg (Mozart Festival), Florence (Museo Diocesano and Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea), Milan (Studio D’Ars), New York (Carrozzini Von Buhler Gallery and CVB Space), and in Mexico. One of her sculptures, "Modestia", was exhibited during the Venice Biennale, at Open 2007. She won the 1st prize for “Sculpture and Installation” at the Florence Biennale 2007.

CALENDAR MEXICO 2008

• 3 July - 25 August
  Museo de Arte Moderno
  Londres y Bilboa
  Col. El Campestre
  Gómez Palacio, Durango
• 4 September - 23 October
  Museo Palacio Pedro de Alvarado
  Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua
• 6 November - 19 December
  Museo Regional de Durango "El Aguacate"
  Durango, Durango

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Jackie Sleper
website:http://www.jackiesleper.com

Images:
You can also see images of Jackie’s artworks at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dulceyamargo

For journalists only:
High resolution files of these images or other press related information can be requested directly from the press office:
Vito Abba press officer
Studio Abba - Corso Italia, 6 - 50123 Florence, Italy
info@studioabba.com
http://www.studioabba.com/

Other images and further information are available at:
http://www.dulceyamargo.com/

It will be possible to follow the various stages of “Dulce y Amargo” thanks to the information and images that will be posted on www.dulceyamargo.com

Visitors to Jackie’s exhibitions in Mexico can also upload photos taken during the exhibitions on Flickr and share them with
http://www.flickr.com/groups/dulceyamargo
At the end of the exhibition series, the authors of the three photos that Jackie likes most, will each receive a signed lithograph of one of her works.

For general comments contact:
dulceyamargo@yahoo.com