Overwhelmed is the title for an exhibition of bold new works by Wellington painter Dee Guja showing at the Wellington Art Centre Gallery from 28 October.
This is the first solo show by Guja who won the Inverlochy Art School's overall student award and painting award earlier this year. She is one of 37 artists with studio space at the new art centre which opened in June this year.Overwhelmed is the title for an exhibition of bold new works by Wellington painter Dee Guja showing at the Wellington Art Centre Gallery from 28 October.
This is the first solo show by Guja who won the Inverlochy Art School's overall student award and painting award earlier this year. She is one of 37 artists with studio space at the new art centre which opened in June this year.Guja describes her works as expressive and narrative-figurative and her influences as theatre, dance, mythology, dreams and power games in relationships.

"I am not interested in painting pretty pictures. I want to create powerful and emotional paintings that confront people, even shock them," Guja says.

"The title "Overwhelmed" sums up for me how life is a lot of the time in this noisy, chaotic world where we are all jugglers of too many balls. It is also about those moments of emotional intensity, where we feel truly and painfully alive."

To add drama to her paintings Guja uses intense lighting and deep shadows, combines areas of loose free big brush strokes with tight controlled detail, and switches from a sombre palette to one of discordant colours with strong emotional messages.

Guja claims inspiration from the old and new masters, such as Titian, El Greco, Picasso, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Cezanne and feels a strong connection to the dreamlike works of Kahlo, De Chirico and Chagall.

Guja took up painting again only two years ago after a long hiatus from art during which she travelled, married and had children, and worked as a publisher, journalist and communications advisor. She has a Bach Education (Arts) from City Art Institute in Sydney majoring in drawing and photography.

Overwhelmed remains on view at Wellington Art Centre Gallery until 6 November. For more information please contact Dee Guja on 021 382 745 or email dee@fluent.co.nz.

OVERWHELMED
An exhibition of new works by Dee Guja
Friday 28 October - Sunday 6 November
Wellington Art Centre Gallery
61-69 Abel Smith St
Exhibition hours: weekdays 9am to 5pm, weekends 1pm to 5pm.