((Left) Dominique Ovalle-Kongsli. (Right) Radiant Spirit, 2021, 64″ x 74″ acrylic on canvas by Dominique Ovalle-Kongsli)
Dominique Ovalle-Kongsli Fine Art Studio is excited to present Creation Sings Dominique Ovalle-Kongsli’s second exhibition at Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty in Downtown Bend. A suite of bold, colorful, and vibrant butterfly and moth paintings float through the hall gallery, behind the main showroom. Welcome to the butterfly release.
Dominique Ovalle-Kongsli weaves images of colorful moths and butterflies into textured backgrounds using painterly edges and gripping brushstrokes, and with a touch of sparkle. These paintings feel expansive, energetic, and offer a grounding sense of symmetry.
Rich visual narratives accompany the observation of butterfly wings. The space surrounding the lepidopterans (moths and butterflies) offer supporting details: patterns, texture, and intricacies are laid out in swoops from her palette knife and swishes from her paintbrush. Iridescent pigments and mixed media refract light, similar to how butterfly scales do so in nature.
The lepidopterans are the main emphasis in these works, yet the backgrounds offer a chorus of delight. Dominique found inspiration in Moroccan Berber rugs and Mexican piñatas. Berber rugs have inspired modern interior design environments for decades and piñatas reference her Mexican American heritage and joy. “The overlapping scales of butterfly wings mirror the texture found on both rugs and piñatas, and so sampling my inspiration was a way to add both pattern and texture to create a cohesive painting,” Dominique writes.
Ancient and modern graphic symbols and typography are sprinkled into the paintings which can refer to our shared humanity and our ever-evolving ways in which humans communicate information.
The butterfly motif can represent transformation, victory over death, new beginnings, and the rebirth of knowledge. Dominique uses the butterfly as an abstract symbol of her faith — specifically an abstraction of the Risen Christ.
Dominique writes, “My intention is to create joyful paintings which show the innate goodness of nature and to bring social and ecological consciousness and truth to the traditional visual art landscape. As both a classically trained oil painter and a former street artist, I merge the worlds of pop culture, and old-school oil painting, and I infuse my work with light-filled symbols of hope and transformation.
My subject matter, gathered from free-source university collections of lepidoptera, are painted in an accessible, neo-impressionist, abstract-representational style. Think: Richard Schmid meets Barbie, meets Patagonia. I consider my work to be both political and sacred — I utilize concepts of beauty, goodness, and truth to elevate the care and love of the earth and creation — as a political act. This is my devotion to Christ. I bring awareness of our responsibility to care for our one wild and precious planet through painting beautiful things, beautifully.”
To celebrate this butterfly collection release, there will be a First Friday Art Walk reception on July 5, 5-9pm.
Visit the exhibition at Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty, 821 NW Wall Street, Monday-Sunday, 10am-5pm, closed Wednesdays.
The artwork is listed for sale at dominiquekongsli.com.
A portion of sales will go to support educating girls from High Atlas Mountain rural communities in Morocco where Berber rugs are created (efamorocco.org) and A Rocha International to support nature conservation efforts(arocha.org/en).
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