Cristina Grajales Gallery Exhibition Mélange!
Cristina Grajales Gallery Exhibition Mélange!
Cristina Grajales Portrait
Your recent exhibition, Mélange, feels like a deeply personal reflection on collecting. What ideas or emotions were you hoping to evoke through this particular grouping of works?
CG: Mélange celebrates the evolving and intuitive process of building a meaningful collection. It’s a vibrant tribute to the deeply personal nature of collecting—where pieces come together not through rigid logic, but through curiosity, instinct, and discovery. We build collections by imagining a puzzle....and all the pieces have to fit together to create a beautiful image.
How would you describe your personal style—beyond fashion, in how you live and curate your surroundings? Has that sensibility evolved over time?
CG: My style is casual and deeply personal. For instance, our home is an architectural jewel, but more importantly, it is a warm and inviting place where people feel at ease. It has the perfect balance between the comfort of the indoor space and the beauty of the outdoors. That sense of approachability has been consistent throughout my life; I’ve never been interested in perfection so much as authenticity and comfort.
Do you find yourself drawn to clothing in the same instinctive way you are to art and design? What connects them for you on an emotional or conceptual level?
CG: Absolutely. I’m drawn to a kind of quiet elegance—pieces that balance structure and function, where the design feels inevitable yet understated. That sense of harmony and restraint speaks to me across both art and fashion.
If one of the artists you represent were to design clothing, whose interpretation would you be most curious to see—and why?
CG: Christophe Côme, without question. His attention to detail, structure, and material is extraordinary. There’s an architectural precision to his work that feels both timeless and intimate. Again, it comes back to that same idea: quiet elegance. Several of his pieces are displayed in Chanel stores around the world. It's a great demonstration of the synergy between his work and the Chanel brand.
Ashlyn's work evokes the same feelings for me. Precision and quiet elegance were very much a part of the way our "Reverie" exhibition in 2024 was curated.
What role does emotion play in how you experience art and fashion? And do you think beauty still holds the same value it once did?
CG: I think we respond to both art and fashion on an emotional level—they’re both languages of expression, and you either connect with them or you don’t. For me, beauty still matters deeply. It’s not superficial; it’s about resonance, balance, and how something moves you.
You were one of the first to champion ASHLYN. What first drew you to Ashlynn Park’s work, and what excites you about her future?
CG: From the beginning, I was captivated by the sculptural quality of her designs and the way she engages with materials. Every detail is considered—nothing feels arbitrary. That level of craftsmanship and thoughtfulness is rare and deeply inspiring.
When you put on a garment, what do you hope it gives you—comfort, protection, power, or transformation?
CG: I look for comfort, protection, and a quiet sense of strength. Not necessarily transformation, but a feeling of being grounded and completely yourself.
The lines between art and fashion are increasingly fluid. How do you see this relationship continuing to evolve, and what do you hope doesn’t get lost in the process?
CG: To me, there’s no real boundary between them. Historically, artists and fashion designers have always learned from and inspired each other—think of early 20th-century France or the Bauhaus. That exchange feels natural. I don’t believe in setting limits around it. When these creative energies meet, something richer always emerges.