Lost and Found

September 8 – October 15, 2022

UniX Gallery is pleased to present Lost and Found, a new exhibition of Flavia Junquiera and Ellen de Meijer.

Flavia Junquiera’s signature photographs are meticulously choreographed balloon installations in lush landscapes and interiors. Extending her decade-long interest in the inflatable balloons and the visual documentation of various historical settings that range from ravaged buildings in Ukraine to opulent palaces in Europe and Brazil, this show brings together some of her most compelling and acknowledged works, like Parque Laje, #2, Versailles 3, (2018).

Parque Enrique Lage is now a public park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, at the foot of the Corcovado Mountain, on top of which Christ the Redeemer is located. In Parque Laje #2, one can see the Redeemer sculpture soaring at the very top of the mountain. Shiny colorful balloons floating above the national landmark that was once a residence of a wealthy industrialist Enrique Lage, reflect the lush world around them and signify both social engagement and public access to a once private luxe property.

In Flavia Junquiera’s works we become immersed in the distant scenery of national culture, feeling the weight of history, listening to the silence of the past. Balloons in her works are the performers taking the stage, whatever the theatre is, be it the street or the sky.

Ellen de Meijer is known for a distinctive style of painting that explores the ways in which information can be embedded within certain scenes and signifiers. Her works are rendered in a muted palette, yet their quiet and restrained appearance belies an underlying moral complexity. De Meijer depicts a pervasive social behavior that she calls Kitsch – with manifestations of wealth, consumerism, and the importance of status and possessions. Kitsch is the lipstick of society. You, me - we’re all part of this circus. All of us have agreed to keep up with our harmful and fake appearances, – says the artist. The universal archetypes that inhabit her paintings appear harsh, egocentric, and even Darwinist, while simultaneously seeming helpless and lost. Yet, her depictions of women often show characters that are powerful and in control. Her most recent painting High Profile portrays a strong and successful businesswoman with her dog, where the woman is shielded by her companion friend. In this work de Meijer uses white tints of paint to represent the sense of emptiness. The corset signifies an uptight nature of the woman, but the fact that it’s not fully closed is suggestive of her willingness to open up.

Ellen de Meijer studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tilburg (the Netherlands) and owned an art school in the Netherlands for many years. Her works are part of the Van den Broek Foundation.

Flavia Junquièra holds a Ph.D. in Visual Arts from the Institute of Arts of the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), a Master’s in Visual Poetics from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP). Select shows include Culture and Conflict, Palais de Tokyo, The World Bank Art Program; Kaunas Photo festival; solo exhibition Tomorrow I Will be Born Again at Cité Dés Arts; among others.

Flavia Junquiera

Ellen de Meijer