A ‘spectacle’ of art & fashion hosted by Dutch artist Riedstra in collaboration with UK- based artists & designers
Private View: 5th of September - 6 pm to 11 pm
‘Fashion’ Show 5th & 6th of September (TBC) 8pm – 11pm
Exhibition runs from: 5th of September to 25th of September 2008
Gallery Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday: 2.30 pm - 6.30 pm
Last day of exhibition: Thursday 25th of September from 11.00 am to 5.00 pm
"…the distorted image of ideal beauty that is never achievable, though laid-on by the world of the media and advertising." (Riedstra, 2007)
Riedstra's ‘Barbs Series’ was shown as part of the Amsterdam International Fashion Week, 2007.
The paintings represent the pain and frustration many women feel when they/we aspire to an unattainable and unrealistic standard of beauty as publicised by the media. They speak of the difficulty in present-day society for women to achieve a true and unadulterated identity of themselves because of the pressures to conform to influences around them/us.
Riedstra’s own background is in both art and theatre, both as a performer and behind the scenes. She has studied Mime & Applied Arts in Tel Aviv, Fine Art at the Royal Academy of the Arts in The Hague, Netherlands. She studied Scenography at HKU in Utrecht, Netherlands, and the Instituto del Teatro, Seville, and has an MA in Scenography from St Martins, London. She is also a qualified teacher of 2d Art. She has exhibited extensively in each of these countries and was invited to show at the Florence Biennale, 2007.
For the forthcoming ‘Barbs’ show Riedstra invited like-minded artists whose work deals with similar issues relating to the body and distorted identity. Her theatrical background informs her vision for the three week exhibition, featuring fashion shows and performances — promising to be an emotional feast for all the senses, and especially the mind.
United Kingdom
