14 Oct 2011 ... Lita Cabellut is an artist of Gypsy origin who, like Coco Chanel, has ... and bright,
luminous soul: so many testimonies of Chanel's love of black ...
356, rue Saint-Honoré 75001 PARIS – France - Tel (33-1) 42 96 39 00
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Lita Cabellut / Coco Chanel October 14th – November 19th 2011
COCO, the Testimony of Black and White Album prefaced by Grady Harp
Coco Chanel as never seen before… Lita Cabellut is an artist of Gypsy origin who, like Coco Chanel, has followed a rather extraordinary path. With her latest exhibition, she perfectly and subtly translates the psychological intricacy of one of the world’s most famous fashion figures, interpreting the designer’s dark, mysterious side and bright, luminous soul: so many testimonies of Chanel’s love of black and white which became her signature. Through this series of 35 colossal portraits, the artist has - enfin! - freed the fashion icon from her glamorous stereotype, just as Coco Chanel changed the world by ridding women’s fashion from the confines of the corset in the 20s, leaving a legacy of pure elegance. Opera Gallery, an international art network that will soon boast 13 prestigious galleries around the globe, has been supporting Lita Cabellut and introducing her incredible talent to art institutions and collectors the world over for several years.
Coco N°10: Mixed media on canvas 260 x 200 cm photo by John Tromp
Coco N°2: Mixed media on canvas 280 x 210 cm photo by John Tromp
Press agent Sylvie Robaglia + 33(0)6 72 59 57 34
[email protected] www.art-et-communication.fr
My life didn’t please me, so I created my life » Although the words are Chanel’s, they could easily have been Cabellut’s. These two women have much in common: both began their lives in extreme poverty and had to fight to impose their unique style with amazing audacity…and talent! Born a gypsy in the earthy streets of Barcelona in 1961, her father unknown, deserted by her prostitute mother at the tender age of three months, nurtured by her gypsy grandmother who refused to send Lita to school, handed over to an orphanage at age eight, Lita Cabellut slowly climbed the ladder of artistic success, starting with her studies at the Fine Arts School in Amsterdam (one of the world’s most reputed institutions). Her obsession with the Prado Museum at the age of 13, her admiration for Rembrandt and Francis Bacon, her sense of closeness with fellow countryman and artist Antoni Tàpies, were the spiritual and artistic nourishment that defined Lita’s style: a unique blend of representational rigor and eloquent strokes, where shape and emotion become one. Lita Cabellut - Crédit photo : Maarten Schets
Lita Cabellut’s passion : the human condition
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Coco Chanel built her own style just as Lita Cabellut ‘builds’ her creations. The artist creates larger-than-life portraits, fashioning them with oil, plaster on linen, a painterly technique and procedure creating cracks on the surface of the canvas; a process which the artist has mastered and that enhances each piece’s visual power. Exhibiting throughout Europe and the United States since 1984, hailed by art critics everywhere, Lita Cabellut is famous for her provocative and stirring series that illustrate her definition of the human condition: prostitutes, clowns, transvestites, musicians, entertainers… Following her series on Frida Kahlo which sold out in London in February, 2011, Lita Cabellut is currently preparing her next project where she will take on one of the world’s tragic afflictions: mental illness. Lita Cabellut in her studio photo by Eddy Wenting
Chanel’s style in black and white…
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For Lita Cabellut, Chanel’s signature use of black and white is no accident but the obvious result of her life experiences. The rigorous orphanage upbringing would be a permanent source of inspiration, while white would become the perfect medium for expressing Chanel’s sweet victory over poverty and tragedy. To describe the woman who borrowed from bereavement the color of her little black dress, forever changing an exterior sign of sadness into elegance, Lita Cabellut winds up revealing a Coco we never knew: Coco as a young girl in simple garb, Coco exploring new horizons, and finally Coco, the ultimate woman, complete with strands of costume pearls and hats
« In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” Coco Chanel
Coco N°3: Mixed media on canvas 280 x 200 cm photo by John Tromp
Coco N°4: Mixed media on canvas 280 x 200 cm photo by John Tromp
About OPERA GALLERY
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Opera Gallery is a network of 12 galleries founded in 1994 in Singapore by Gilles Dyan. Since then, new venues have been opened in Paris (1994), New York (2000), Miami (2003), Hong Kong (2004), London (2006) and Seoul (2007). Two sites now exist in Dubai (DIFC in 2008 and the Dubai Mall in 2010), followed by Monaco (2008), Geneva (2009) and a second gallery in Singapore in 2010. Each gallery boasts a prestigious location and the same ambitious philosophy. In the upcoming months, Gilles will launch a new venue in Beijing (1200 m2). Gilles’s concept is to sell masterpieces of Modern Art (Picasso, Miró, Braque, Chagall, etc.) while promoting contemporary artists. SEEN, David Mach, Gérard Rancinan and Ron Arad are already members of the Opera Gallery dream team. Taking Fine Art beyond traditional art circuits and salons, Gilles Dyan decided to develop an international network for collectors and investors everywhere; his privileged contacts with the Who’s Who in international art, from institutions to museums around the world, have made Opera Gallery a major actor on the international art scene.
