CHRIS MENDOZA'S "INDELIBLE MEMORIES" OPENS IN TOKYO JANUARY 24, 2004
January 7, 2004 - COlab is pleased to announce "Indelible Memories" an exhibition by Chris Mendoza aka EDEC opening at Dyezu Experiment in Toyko on January 24 and runs through February 15, 2004.
"Indelible Memories" is Mendoza's first solo show. The exhibition will feature a new series of his work on clayboards - combining Menzoza¹s line styles with his unique techniques scratching imagery into the surface of the boards. The resulting images are finely detailed surfaces. Each are smooth black backgrounds with a field of icons, abstracted and figurative imagery composed in white and indelibly scratched on its surface. The boards ranging in size, will be installed to create one seamless wall of black and white in Dyezu. A new mural-style canvas will also be featured in the gallery along with a large-scale painting Mendoza will create on-site.
Prior to the opening of "Indelible Memories" Dyezu is hosting a special event presented by Japanese clothing retailer, SHIPS and Tokion Magazine entitled "LET'S PAINT - WITH EDEC" with Nakameguro & Dyezu's Kids on January 23, 2004. Kazama brought together the concept as a cultural exchange through painting between Mendoza and kids from Japan. Kazama has extended the gallery for the public project - allowing Mendoza and the kids to paint together, providing a venue for the participants to "feel the world that is bigger through meeting people from different cultureŠ EDEC is the master of 80's Bronx style and he will bring his view and open new ideas that the kids will always remember. I think the memory of this experience will be especially important when they get older shaping their ideas of freedom and the exchange they will have at Dyezu will be absolutely free!" says Kazama.
Chris Mendoza is a New York based painter whose work draws from the culture of his native Nicaragua and the influences of New York and Miami. MendozaÍs style combines elements of the architectural draftsmanship he learned very early on from his father, an architect in Nicaragua with inspirations of letters, faces, and forms that covered the subways of New York City when his family moved to the Bronx in the early 80's. Mendoza later moved to Miami, where he attended the center for media arts. Mendoza admires works of Matta, Kandinsky, Miró, and Frank Lloyd Wright and is inspired by Central and North American Indian art. As a founding member of the Inkheads and an influential member of the Barnstormers, Mendoza has been involved in collaborative art making for over a decade.
Dyezu - formerly GAS-EXP - an experimental gallery & retail space in Tokyo founded by artist, Naomi Kazama. Dyezu supports and cultivates the underground art scene, providing a venue to interact with artists and developing new form of graphic arts in Tokyo. Past exhibitions have included South, Kami, Shepard Fairey, Rostarr, David Ellis, and Faile Collective. Dyezu Experiment is located at 2-44-8 Kamimeguro Meguro-ku, TOKYO, +81-3-5720-7765.
