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.

XanaduART gallery is proud to present Enkhbold Togmidshirev’s solo exhibition “Mining in the Mind”.

In his latest work, Enkhbold uses a variety of atypical materials to create vast, abstract and generally monochrome canvases that are somehow reminiscent of the Mongolian landscape. Each “painting” is unique in terms of technique: in one piece, a large piece of cloth is sewn onto the canvas and painted over, in another, the artist has used crushed horse dung instead of paint, a third piece is made with ashes, and still another one uses powdered metal. The use of such unconventional materials creates a quite mesmerizing textured effect, which endows their abstract composition with a very personal character.

Man’s ambivalent relationship with nature has always been an important theme for Enkhbold. Most pieces emphasize the duality of this relationship, as the artist puts together a light canvas with a dark one, juxtaposing the two in terms of color and texture. This juxtaposition can be extended even further – tradition vs. modernity, nomadism vs. consumerism, subsistence economy vs. intensive mining, etc. For those who are interested to hear more about his work, Enkhbold will give a presentation on Saturday, July 9 between 3 and 5 p.m.

Born in 1978, Enkhbold graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia with a painting degree in 2005. This is Enkhbold’s first solo exhibition as a XanaduART gallery artist.

For more information, please contact the gallery at 976-11-310239 or e-mail info@xanaduartgallery.org.

XanaduART is pleased to present “Desertification in Art”, a collection of socially conscious works of art curated by the New Century Art association. The exhibition will be on display at the gallery through June 27, 2011.

“Desertification in Art” exhibition includes multimedia works by Enkhbat Lantuu, Amarsaikhan, Undraa Vandan, Batzorig Dugarsuren, Ariuntugs Tserenpil, Enkhbold Togmidshirev and XanaduART gallery curator Zesee Sodnomtseren. The artists seek to address the problem of desertification in Mongolia  through contemporary art and to show the bitter truth about land degradation caused by human activities.

Works exhibited are deeply rooted in the imagery of the Mongolian steppe and the everyday life of nomads – our culture, our customs, our philosophy and the Mongolian way of thinking. In doing so, the exhibition presents a mix of traditional and modern approaches to contemporary art.  The artists hope that their works will raise awareness about the environmental issues that Mongolia faces and encourage people to protect the Mother Earth.

This exhibition is organized by the New Century Art association in collaboration with XanaduART gallery, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Ministry of Environment of Mongolia.

For more information, please contact the gallery at 976-11-310239 or e-mail info@xanaduartgallery.org.

“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.

Nature born through impression
Group exhibition

April 17 – May 7, 2009

“XanaduART” gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of Mongolian landscapes by artists Ts.Amgalanbaatar, A.Ankhbaatar, B.Ganbaatar, E.Gansukh, B.Bud, T.Baatartsogt, B.Erdenebat, B.Uurtsaikh and A.Uuganbayar entitled “Nature born through impression”.

The exhibition explores the diversity of Mongolia as artists present their interpretations of the Mongolian landscape and way of life. Wide steppes, tranquil rivers, idyllic country scenes and herders with their ubiquitous horses are the main subjects of “Nature born through impression”. Accordingly, works exhibited are characterized by vivid yet calm colors, which are unique to Mongolian landscape painting.

“Nature born through impression” will be on display until May 7, 2009. Please contact the gallery at 976-11-310239 (Mongolian) or e-mail info@xanaduartgallery.org (English) for more information regarding this exhibition.