Some Like It Hot
Sinta Tantra
Vivid pink and blue forms stretch, float, and leap through space beneath golden orbs, like glittering moons. Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach is delighted to present Some Like It Hot, a solo exhibition by British-Balinese artist Sinta Tantra. Tantra transforms each of her exhibitions into a large-scale installation, where the works respond not only to one another but to the gallery’s light and space, creating shifting moods and perspectives throughout the day. For this, her seventh solo exhibition at the gallery, Tantra draws inspiration from Marilyn Monroe’s 1959 film, using it as a springboard to explore themes of play, performance, and identity.
Tantra’s compositions use repetitive forms that are reimagined in different configurations as if visualising thought processes, feelings or memories. In this exhibition, almost all of the paintings appear in pairs. While the compositions themselves remain identical – blending organic and geometric shapes – the color palettes contrast: one rendered in vibrant hues of pink and purple that are traditionally associated with femininity and the other in deep shades of blue that represent a more masculine energy. We could also interpret them as representing different temporalities – day and night – different emotions or states of mind – present and introspective. By hanging the paintings alongside one another or opposite, Tantra encourages us not just to view them in dialogue, but as alternative versions of the same the whole.
The use of doubling in this show is inspired by the film’s playful exploration of gender roles and mistaken identities – when the characters Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) disguise themselves as women to join an all-female band. It also resonates with Tantra’s own complex relationship with her identity as a woman who identifies with and embodies multiple cultures. We can imagine holding them as objects, the way they might feel against our skin. They also evoke the idea of costumes or masks, inviting us to explore or ‘try on’ different ways of being. ‘Some Like It Hot was ahead of its time in terms of talking about gender and sexuality in a very entertaining and accessible way. The film is really about the freedom and creativity that comes from fluidity,’ says Tantra.
At times, Tantra’s forms are reminiscent of figures, arched and soaring through space, while at others they evoke tropical flowers connecting to her Balinese roots and the climate of Florida as well to traditional portrayals of femininity. Meanwhile, the circular shapes that appear at varying scales are a recurring motif in Tantra’s work, referencing the Balinese lunar calendar and meditation practices. Rendered in gold leaf, some circles seem to draw on mythological ideas of transformation that occur in moonlight while also playing on ideas around vanity and reflection. Other circles, left in raw canvas, offer a pause, space to breathe within the density and clamour of colour. Stripped back to bare material in which we can glimpse the warp and weave of the linen, they seem to capture a feeling of vulnerability, the essence of self that lingers beneath our performances and grounds us.
In this way, the exhibition transforms the gallery into more than just a space for viewing art, it becomes a platform for experimentation, self-reflection, and play.
2414 Florida Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL
33401 USA
Private View: Saturday, 25th of January 2025, 4-7pm
Opening Hours
Tues-Sat: 11am-6pm