Danish Artist Charlotte Donvang is not your normal artist… and her recent exhibition at Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur was something entirely different too! The exhibition called “COLOURS OF LIFE – A Celebration of Life, Art and Culture” (on top of displaying her art work) also covered a series of events portraying different angles of life, art and culture, thereby illustrating some of the many colours the artist believes a human life consists of.

At the opening evening with some 60 people attending, Charlotte Donvang surprised the guests by attempting to bring to life one of her paintings in a beautiful potpourri of music, poetry and dance. The stunning and touching performance was created by Charlotte herself together with fashion designer/dancer Nila Palacios and make-up artist Vanitha Murthi.

Charlotte Donvang was born in Denmark and although living in Kuala Lumpur and having exhibited several times, this exhibition was her first major mark on the Malaysian art scene.

“To me, colour is energy and energy is life,” says Charlotte Donvang. “What I do ultimately evolves around energy because that’s how we translate all things in the universe on a subconscious level, including the colours in my art work. That is also why using art and the colours in art is so very powerful to speak across the barriers of culture, age and gender. As a matter of fact, my mission in life is to enlighten people about the true powers of colour and how it can actually help us, significantly, in our lives”. To this end, Charlotte does transformational workshops about colours and creativity.

The exhibition and associated events including talks such as “Why Colours Are More Important Than We Think”, Eat Your Colours Alive” and “Social Media for Social Good” all supported Yayasan Sunbeams Home for abandoned, abused and orphaned children.

The exhibition intended to show the versatility of expressions linked to different aspects of life; from what we think about ourselves, how we do things, how we react to situations, our behavior in relation to other people and, not least, our purpose in life. These are all questions that Charlotte feels are some of the most important subjects to establish in life and she hopes that with her artwork she can make us question our own life and help us think of how we, ourselves, influence our own lives.

“I believe that art is a part of life and it should be available to all walks of life. By exhibiting at a hotel my art will be seen by more people than in many galleries, for the simple reason that people can, and will, just be passing by at any hour of the day. By encouraging different expressions through the many associated events, as well as the actual colours in the art, I believe that I can express a much broader variety of colours of life than would otherwise be possible. The art, I believe, is also very much to reach people with my messages,” says Charlotte Donvang.

The event programme covered two topics by the artist herself. She conducted a free interactive talk “Why Colours Are More Important than We Think. The Why’s and the What Colours are about”.

She also led “Playshop for Adults: How to Relax through Creative Expression”, which is a creative session coloured with input about colours, creativity and relaxing in a hectic lifestyle.

Other activities include “Eat Your Colours Alive” by Nutrional Consultant and Raw Food Expert Elke Wollschon, “Social Media for Social Good” by Social Media Expert Lena Lim and “Creating a home sweet home” by Vasthu Sastra, author, columnist, international speaker, radio and television personality on metaphysics and ancient Indian wisdom, plus a number of Traditional Chinese events such as Guquin Chinese Instrument Performance, Chinese Tea Art, Stone Chop demonstration as well as Calligraphy demonstrations.

ABOUT CHARLOTTE DONVANG
Charlotte Donvang comes from a line of artists and was taught art since childhood. Her whole life has evolved around creative expressions. She was born in Denmark and has also lived in England, Thailand and Malaysia.

In adult life, Charlotte has always worked creatively, with jobs in advertising, business and as an entrepreneur.

She is a Reiki Master and energetic colour healer as well as a trainer and speaker. She has been trained by a Chinese Doctor in Tuina, Quasa and cupping and is continually developing herself through studying metaphysics, ancient secrets and healing techniques. Her focus in life is colourful art and the power of colours.

Charlotte has exhibited several times in Malaysia as well as in Denmark. For more information, visit www.donvang.com

Source: The Expat March 2012 Issue

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This article has been edited for ExpatGoMalaysia.com