Beyond Borders

About

BEYOND BORDERS brings together the work of eight artists who have all graduated from art school within the last two years. Seven are from London based art schools and one is from the New York Academy of Fine Art. The artists are from all over the world and the one thing that truly connects them is the outstanding quality of their work. All tackle issues which are important to them and us all: ideas of cultural heritage, sexuality and gender. Larry Achiampong graduated from the Slade with an MA in sculpture in 2008. Achiampong's work explores perceptions, misconceptions and concepts of identity with regard to his cultural heritage: being Ghanian but brought up predominantly in the UK. Guler Ates, who was brought up in Turkey, graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in printmaking in 2008. Her striking works are intrinsically interlaced with her heritage and her experience as a Muslim woman in the 21st century. Martina Molin moved to London from Sweden to study at Camberwell and graduated in 2008 with an MA in drawing. Her work focuses on the ideas about femininity and her figures often seem to have an inner strength which is counter balanced by the softness of the water colour. Adriana Munoz, originally from Barcelona, graduated in 2008 from Camberwell with a Masters in illustration. Her work is predominantly in pencil but she refuses to be restricted to traditional media on which she draws. She is primarily interested in fashion and lifestyle images, which are reflected in her images of strong women who appear like models on various media including a toy car. Vashali Pathak graduated in 2008 with a 1st from the Slade. She was brought up between Hong Kong and the UK and her works have a surreal other worldly aspect to them, offering viewers a window into a fantasy world which they are allowed a glimpse into. Joanna Pietrzyk was brought up in Poland and graduated in 2008 from Camberwell with an MA in printmaking. Her prints which are reminiscent of Picasso in their technique but are completely different in their outcome. They represent the world in which she now lives and the people around her but at the same time portray people that we can all relate to: the everyman, the slightly cool boy who probably wants to be a dj, the beautiful girl and the embracing teenage couple to name a few. Preeti Sood was brought up in India and graduated from Camberwell in 2008 with an MA in printmaking. Her work explores concepts of of antiquity and decay from both the UK and India. These close ups encourage us to examine the world around us and see beauty in the most surprising of places. All of Sood's work is printed in India to make sure that the colours are as vibrant and honest as possible. Bonnie de Witt was brought up in New York and continues to live and work there, graduating from The New York Academy of Fine Art with a MFA in 2007. The size of the works are intimate and they are pictures which, at first glanc,e appear to be innocent sweet scenes but often have an underlying sense of mystery and voyeurism. It will be DeWitt's first show in the UK.