August 9 – 22, 2011
Opening reception: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 4 p.m.

XanaduART gallery is proud to present Lkhagvadorj’s solo exhibition entitled “ANONYMITY”.

Lkhagvadorj focuses on the theme of identity through the lens of anonymity by creating photo-realistic portraits of random people on UB’s streets. His brand new exhibition will feature several portraits from this series – homeless, jobless people who have become anonymous non-entities in a rapidly growing metropolis that is Ulaanbaatar. Poverty is anonymity, the artist seems to say, and his work is extremely poignant given the current promises of riches to every Mongolian citizen.

Born in 1987, Lkhagvadorj graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia with a painting degree in 2010. This is Lkhagvadorj’s first solo exhibition as a XanaduART gallery artist.

The exhibition will be on display at XanaduART gallery through August 22, 2011. For questions and inquiries, please email the gallery. Gallery opening hours: 12 p.m – 7 p.m Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday.

“1985” SOLO EXHIBITION

November 18 – December 19, 2009
Opening: November 18, 2009 at 5 p.m.

XanaduART gallery is pleased to host Badral Bold’s solo exhibition entitled “1985”. This is the first solo show by Badral Bold, who is a XanaduART gallery artist.

Although the self-portrait is the genre of choice for Badral, his portraits are dominated by non-figurative elements designed to disguise and obscure the central subject of the work – the artist himself. He seeks to explore the boundaries of personal and artistic identity, and his works are characterized by blurry and distorted outlines of facial features that seem to continue beyond the canvas. In doing so, Badral questions the representative quality of the portrait and whether individual identity can be adequately expressed by painterly techniques. Accordingly, Badral seeks to vary his choice of medium as he often experiments with different techniques. For instance, his latest series of self-portraits use sheer linoleum instead of canvas, which effectively transforms the atmosphere of the work. As these pieces are meant to be hung with a light source behind them, they seem to embody the ephemeral quality of the artist’s work. The individual portraits in these series are never complete – if one portrait focuses on the eyes, the other brings forth the mouth, while the third is a mere outline of the artist’s face. However, when contemplated in unison, they seem to form a unique whole that attests to the artist’s vision.

A senior year student at the Institute of Fine Arts, Badral joined XanaduART gallery upon winning the first prize in the gallery’s “In pursuit of an ideal insight″ art competition in 2007. In 2008, Badral represented Mongolia at the Tiger Translate Global Showcase held in London, UK. 

“1985” will be on view at XanaduART gallery from November 18 until December 19, 2009. Gallery hours: Monday through Sunday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. For more information, please contact the gallery at 976-11-310239 or e-mail info@xanaduartgallery.org.

Although the self-portrait is the genre of choice for Badral, his portraits are dominated by non-figurative elements designed to disguise and obscure the central subject of the work – the artist himself. He seeks to explore the boundaries of personal and artistic identity, and his works are characterized by blurry and distorted outlines of facial features that seem to continue beyond the canvas. In doing so, Badral questions the representative quality of the portrait and whether individual identity can be adequately expressed by painterly techniques. Accordingly, Badral seeks to vary his choice of medium as he often experiments with different techniques. For instance, his latest series of self-portraits use sheer linoleum instead of canvas, which effectively transforms the atmosphere of the work. As these pieces are meant to be hung with a light source behind them, they seem to embody the ephemeral quality of the artist’s work. The individual portraits in these series are never complete – if one portrait focuses on the eyes, the other brings forth the mouth, while the third is a mere outline of the artist’s face. However, when contemplated in unison, they seem to form a unique whole that attests to the artist’s vision.

A senior year student at the Institute of Fine Arts, Badral joined XanaduART gallery upon winning the first prize in the gallery’s “In pursuit of an ideal insight″ art competition in 2007. In 2008, Badral represented Mongolia at the Tiger Translate Global Showcase held in London, UK.

RECENT WORKS

Works on linoleum:

Portraits:

Landscapes:

THE EXTRA OBJECT

February 13 – March 4, 2009
Opening: February 13, 2009 at 5 p.m.

XanaduART gallery is pleased to present B. BADRAL’s solo exhibition entitled “The extra object”. The exhibition showcases the artist’s latest portraits and nudes. 

Badral’s work greatly differs from the traditional definition of portraiture given the highly abstract nature of his works. Badral is not interested in the outward appearance of his subjects, instead, he wants to portray their inner world with its suffering, hidden desires and inexpressible thoughts. Accordingly, he gives seemingly absurd titles to his paintings. For instance, a painting of a young man, whose facial features are merely outlined, is entitled “Paper, pen, fallen scratches and head”. The ambiguity and incomprehensiveness of the titles is mirrored by the artist’s simplicity of composition. Badral’s works are always self-referential – he is at once both the subject and the artist. Thus, his work abounds with mirror images – often, a portrait consists of two separate canvases depicting the same subject twice.

Born in 1985, B. Badral graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in 2007 with a painting major. His work has been shown in various group exhibitions in UB, including UMA’s annual “Spring” exhibitions. “The extra object” is Badral’s first solo exhibition.

Please contact the gallery at 976-11-310239 (Mongolian) or e-mail info@xanaduartgallery.org (English) for more information regarding this exhibition.

SELECTED WORKS EXHIBITED

ANNUAL ART COMPETITION

January 20 – February 10, 2009

“XanaduART” gallery is proud to host its annual “In pursuit of an ideal insight” art competition. The competition, which aims to showcase this year’s best new paintings by emerging artists, is an important part of “XanaduART” gallery’s pledge to foster artistic creativity and encourage innovative endeavors. This is the third installment of the annual event. The competition is judged by a panel of experts upon the following merits: creativity, composition and expression of meaning. Winners of past year’s competitions have gone on to show their work both in Mongolia and abroad: last year’s prize winner Bold Badral represented Mongolia at the Tiger Translate Global Showcase event in London, UK in September, 2008.

More than 50 artists entered this year’s competition, making the exhibition an interesting cross-section of Mongolian contemporary art scene. Although more than 100 works were received, the panel of judges selected 15 shortlisted works to be displayed at XanaduART gallery beginning January 20, and the two winning works of art will be announced at the closing of the exhibition. The winners of this year’s competition will accompany XanaduART gallery artists to the CIGE 2009 art fair to be held in Beijing, China in April, 2009.

UPDATE

B. Orkhontuul’s painting entitled “Right now” and T. Erdenetuya’s “Vital” triptych were declared the winning works of art in XanaduART gallery’s “In pursuit of an ideal insight III” art competition. Both artists are students of the Institute of Fine Arts, Ulaanbaatar.

For more information about this exhibition please call XanaduART gallery at 976-11-310239 (Mongolian) or e-mail info@xanaduartgallery.org (English).

WORKS EXHIBITED