Artist Jeanne Jalandoni Defines Bicultural Identity with Portraits of Women

Bicultural Identities and Histories exhibit opens at the Little Underground Gallery of the Jefferson Market Library July 5-20, 2018

By Marivir R. Montebon

New York – Filipina American artist Jeanne Jalandoni invites viewers of her art work “to look beyond race and contemplate the cultural diversity in America through individual experiences.”  In her current exhibit of oil paintings titled “Bicultural Identities and Histories” at the Jefferson Market Library on 6th Avenue, Jalandoni portrayed women (her friends and great grandmother) and their cultural associations. The exhibit is up until July 20, 2018.

Jalandoni, 25, said she intended to explore personal histories, understand such histories, and promote the growth of cultural heritage and American societal expectations. At the exhibit opening on July 5, Nikki Leger, a local artist at Greenwich Village, said Jalandoni’s work is impressive, “very detailed depiction of happy and vibrant young women.” Gloria Stern remarked: “very contemplative.”

Khadiza, Bangladeshi-American, oil on canvas

Laura, Mexican-American, mixed media

Tricia, Filipina-American, oil on canvas

Born in New York to Filipino parents, Jalandoni earned her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts at the New York University with a concentration in painting. She got her artistic gifts from Filipino parents: her father, Antonio Jalandoni, a native of Iloilo and was raised in the US since he was a child, is a retired medical photographer at the NYU. Her mom Amelia, from Mindoro, is a registered dietitian working in New York City.

The artist with parents Amelia and Tony during the opening of her exhibit at Jefferson Market Library.

The young Jalandoni is a prolific artist who has exhibited in Berlin and Paris as well as in Washington, DC (Shopkeepers Gallery) and in New York (Kimmel Galleries, NY Presbyterian, Allen Hospital, and in Chelsea). Simultaneous with the Bicultural Identities exhibit is another show by Jalandoni at the Berkshire Art Museum in North Adams, Massachusetts which will be until October 15, 2018.