Category: EXHIBITIONS

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GREEDY DOPAMINE—SHIH SIAO-MO solo exhibition

“It is a blessing and a curse, a motivation and a reward.”— <The Molecule of More>  Daniel Z. Lieberman, Michael E. Long

From August 3 to 25 this year, Ting Ting Art Space will host the exhibition “Greedy Dopamine: A Solo Exhibition by Shih Siao-Mo,” showcasing her previously unseen works. Departing from her usual monochromatic palette, this exhibition will present her explosive and unpredictable creativity through high-saturation visuals.

The exhibition focuses on two major series: “Greedy Dopamine” and “Radicals.” The highly visual “Greedy Dopamine” series features geometric distortions and intense, saturated colors, creating a constantly shifting, fluid repetition that symbolizes dopamine’s powerful drive in stimulating emotions and desires. The main works in this series range from size 150 to 800, with the full-frame images offering an extended sense of expansion, allowing viewers to experience dopamine’s tangible, dynamic growth. These pieces exhibit strong visual impact and depth, especially when displayed in public spaces.

 

The Path of Solitary Crowds 多巴胺的多重啟示, 石小墨 Shih Siao Mo, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 162 x 224 cm

 

The Bliss of Desire Molecules 慾望分子的極樂, 石小墨 Shih Siao Mo, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 194 x 384 cm

 

The “Radicals” series represents Shih Siao-Mo’s recent exploration of “tracing back to the origins.” Inspired by the character practice books she used as a child, this series delves into the strokes and combinations of Chinese characters, transforming them into concrete symbols and meanings that ultimately become cultural carriers. Shih views radicals as semantic symbols and attempts to reinterpret the linear history of character development. Through the technique of canvas patchwork, she constructs paintings imbued with the meanings of these symbols.

 

Translation in the Dialogue of Civilizations-1 文明對話中的翻譯1, 石小墨 Shih Siao Mo, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 180 cm

 

From Strokes to Philosophy 從筆畫到哲學的旅程, 石小墨 Shih Siao Mo, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 180 x 120 cm

 

The “Objects/Events” series serves as a visual side story to this exhibition, stemming from Shih Siao-Mo’s reflections on the insignificant events and moments of daily life. For instance, in “Absurd Daily Object Fantasies,” she captures the moment when papers accidentally fall from a height. This series explores objects not only as static backgrounds that set the atmosphere but also as dynamic participants that trigger events, capturing concrete occurrences through abstract forms.

 

Object & Thing-3 荒謬日常的物件狂想3, 石小墨 Shih Siao Mo, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 145.5 x 112 cm

 

Object & Thing-2 荒謬日常的物件狂想2, 石小墨 Shih Siao Mo, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 158 x 158 cm

 

■ GREEDY DOPAMINE—SHIH SIAO-MO solo exhibition

■ Opening |
8/3(Sat.) 15:00-19:00

■ Artist on-site |
8/10(Sat.) 14:30-15:30
8/17(Sat.) 14:30-15:30

■ Exhibition |
8/3(Sat.) -8/25(Sun.）

■ location |
TING TING ART SPACE
No.111,Tianmu E Rd., Shilin Dist.,Taipei City

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Playing House

The works of artist OTON are filled with elements of mischief and provocation. Beneath an ostensibly innocent aesthetic lies a sharp reflection on society.

“Playing House” humorously presents a game of contradictions and dualities: innocence and maturity, sweetness and corruption. OTON transforms the most famous animated characters from popular culture into amusing parodies. The innocent and playful icons of Disney are thoroughly subverted in his works. The seemingly bold, mad, and straightforwardly provocative reimagine serve as his biting critique of the extreme impacts of consumerism, globalization, and media manipulation on the public.

To create these works, OTON returns to the basics, employing the purest and most fundamental painting techniques. Like a child, he draws impulsive lines and color blocks on paper, without rules. Mistakes, scratches, or smudges are all crucial elements in constructing his paintings. From the studio to the exhibition space, all are extensions of his playful ground.

OTON

 

Oton is a self-taught artist, who has nurtured a passion for painting and drawing since childhood, particularly inspired by scenes from Madrid.His work is full of mischievous and provocative elements. Beneath an aesthetic that appears childlike and innocent lies an acerbic reflection on our society.

Artwork from his early stage of career featured a series of action paintings enriched with collage elements, exploring themes of neo-dadaism, abstract expressionism, and pop art. Later on in his career, he took a pivotal move and began creating irreverent, scatological parodies of popular culture icons, questioning our relationship with media imagery. His playful, uninhibited drawings blend ingenuity with irreverence, reflecting a critical yet humorous perspective.

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Fable Globe-Dima Kashtalyan 2024 exhibition

The exhibition “Fable Globe” showcases a series of works by Belarusian artist Dima. Before creating each piece, Dima contemplates how to effectively convey his viewpoints through imagery. His works focus on modern societal and individual issues, cleverly choosing familiar everyday objects as the main subjects in his paintings. Through the technique of collage, he imbues these characters with deeper meanings and resonance. Examples include a fox with a city growing out of its head or a bird carrying a turtle shell, infusing the artworks with elements of magical realism and dramatic tension.

Dima classifies his creations as pointillism or stippling, using meticulously detailed dots as the smallest units of his paintings to depict various characters. Each piece appears like a fable, whispering his profound insights about the world to the viewers. Observing his works is akin to gazing into crystal snow globes, each containing a different fable, where people encounter the artist’s thoughts amidst the myriad delicate dots.

Dima Kashtalyan

Currently living in Poland, the 35-year-old Belarusian artist Dima, whether through his illustrations or street art, consistently showcases a unique style that is both wild and refined. He categorizes his art as pointillism or stippling, a technique that uses hand-drawn dots as the smallest units of an artwork.

What Dima wants to say in his work is closely tied to issues of modern society and individual life. He cleverly picks familiar everyday objects as the main subject matters of his work to evoke symbolic qualities and resonances. For example, he might depict a fox with a city growing out of its head or a bird carrying a turtle shell on its back. This approach not only invites viewers to think about the meaning of the work, but also creates dramatic visual impact. 

Dimension wise, he prefers to work on large canvases. This allows him to meticulously refine every detail so that even up close, viewers can appreciate the precision and depth of his work. Dima’s work is not just visual pleasures but also intellectual feasts, with each piece whispering profound insights into the world.

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“BOMBING”! Italian Artist Duo Exhibition

Ting Ting Art Space is set to host an adventurous duo exhibition by Italian graffiti artists in May. Titled ‘Bombing!’, the exhibition derives its name from the graffiti term, signifying the act of leaving marks in public spaces akin to bombing. Featuring works by artists Daniele Oldani and Max Bi, the exhibition showcases graffiti elements such as rugged black outlines, vibrant primary colors, and bold compositions, delivering a powerful visual impact reminiscent of an explosion, offering viewers a unique visual experience.

Daniele Oldani

Daniele Oldani, born in 1979 in Milan, Italy, is known for his rugged outlines, bold primary colors, and strong narrative style in his artwork. He first encountered painting at the age of 14, accidentally stumbling upon painting and graffiti art, which led him to immerse himself in it and embark on a self-taught artistic journey.

A distinctive feature of Daniele’s work is ‘mirror writing’, where he writes text in reverse on the canvas, creating enigmatic symbols reminiscent of hieroglyphs or ancient Egyptian script. Viewers may initially struggle to comprehend these symbols, but by looking at them through a mirror’s reflection, they can uncover the true meaning of the text. Mirror writing is sometimes seen as an extremely primitive form of code, allowing viewers to continuously decipher the text within the artwork to uncover clues left by the artist. Similar to one of history’s most famous practitioners of mirror writing, Leonardo da Vinci, who used mirror writing for the majority of his manuscripts.

Fire Eater, 2022, Acrylic and oil pastels on canvas, 120 x 100 cm

 

The truth, 2022, Acrylic and oil pastels on canvas, 100 x 120 cm

Max Bi

Max Bi, born in 1973 in Brescia, Italy, draws inspiration primarily from the cultural upheaval of the 1980s, heavily influenced by prominent street and graffiti artists of the time such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. Max’s works often feature an abundance of fluorescent colors, creating a sense of distance and surrealism. At first glance, they appear vibrant and colorful, but upon closer inspection, one discovers his humorous vocabulary, textual elements, and intertwining of temporal and spatial variations into an artistic language.

Max Bi’s animal series depicts imagined cityscapes entirely dominated by animals. In these cities, sharks, wolves, and many other animals take on the role of protagonists in the narrative. Upon closer examination, these animals possess anthropomorphic traits, swapping roles with humans and coexisting within cityscapes constructed by human culture. Through this act of role reversal, Max prompts viewers to reflect on whether the cities created by human civilization represent freedom or a cage.

 

Lupo, 2021, Mixed media on canvas,150 x 210 cm

 

Scimmia Verde, 2019, Mixed media on canvas,100 x 35 cm

 

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Moisés Yagües X Jisbar duo exhibition

Ting Ting Art Space will present a duo exhibition featuring two artists, Spanish artist Moisés Yagües and French artist Jisbar. The works of Moisés Yagües are characterized by a simple and fresh style, while Jisbar’s pieces are imbued with strong and vivid street colors. Although their styles may seem vastly different, they showcase a harmonious conflict, offering viewers a unique visual experience.

Moisés Yagües

Moisés Yagües, born in 1972 in Spain, possesses a remarkable style characterized by simplicity, clarity, freshness, and harmony. Influenced by illustrators such as Saul Steimber, Tomi Ungerer, Isidro Ferrer, and artists like Basquiat or Keith Haring, Yagües’ creations exhibit a highly liberated form of artistic expression, akin to that of children at play. His works predominantly feature round-headed figures, within which various objects like ladders, flowers, and tightropes are often hidden, suggesting an exploration of the inner world of human complexity. Upon closer inspection, one may even notice embroidery adorning his pieces. Due to his unique narrative language, his works exhibit a wide range of styles, sometimes appearing delicate and refined, while at other times forceful, critical, yet playful. Nevertheless, his creations are consistently imbued with poetry, elegance, and dynamism. Yagües considers his art to be profoundly liberated, akin to the creativity of children. His imagery unveils a new realm of humor to the audience, replete with fantasy and color.

 Your eyes on me, 2021, Acrylic on linen, 130 x 97 cm
Your eyes on me, 2021, Acrylic on linen, 130 x 97 cm
Hands Game, 2022, Acrylic on linen, 81 x 100 cm

 

Jisbar

Jisbar, originally named Jean-Baptiste Launay, is a French emerging artist born in 1989, known for his strong street-inspired style. Growing up immersed in skateboard park culture and art, these became not just his hobbies but passions that he seamlessly blended through his creativity. Jisbar’s works draw heavily from a variety of elements ranging from fashion, music, pop art, and underground culture to skateboarding and street style codes, all imbued with a kaleidoscope of countless colors, resulting in a concept of punk style and visual freedom. He satirically mimics the discourse of pop and popular culture, and through his own perspective on social issues, translates and reproduces them onto canvas. Additionally, he’s the world’s first artist to reinterpret classical art masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, Frida Kahlo, Klimt, and Warhol, in a personal style influenced by pop and street art. This astonishing blend has shaped a distinct and unique identity, inspiring many artists and brands worldwide. Each artwork transcends mere replication, as they are rich in text, slogans, numbers, and symbols, constructing new narratives and meanings. Every viewer can find clues within the paintings, as the abundant symbols generate different perspectives, discovering new elements and interpretations with each viewing.

Mona box, 2021, Mixed media on canvas, 130 x 97 cm
Chanel sun flowers, 2021, Mixed media on canvas, 130 x 97 cm

 

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Nicolás Romero solo exhibition

By creating a microcosm of a supermarket in the venue with Nicolás Romero’s art works, we generate the feeling of a daily life activity such as grocery shopping. While pushing a shopping cart and wandering through the refrigerators and shelves picking out groceries, entering the exhibition simultaneously feels like stepping into an art bazaar, pamphlet, and basket in hand. By building a bridge between viewers and the artist, the exhibition allows viewers to experience a future where “art is life” and “life is art.”

 
Nicolás turns the image of Gundam into items that appear in his daily life, redefining a new identity of Gundam characters. In other words, the images of Gundam which Nicolás depicts are composed of items which he either consumes, desires or those which don’t belong to him. Such daily items play a protective role in his life, just as whenever Gundam appears in animation, it is in the form of a giant defending its territory.

 

The pieces created for this exhibition present an integration of all forms of resistance and describe some specific moments from the past. Nicolás invites viewers to look at the relationship between past and present, identity and migration, resistance and change in a globalized world.

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Italian artists group exhibition

It is our pleasure to announce the gathering of works from four Italian artists: Cane, Antonio Cugnetto, Giorgio Tentolini, and Luigi Franchi for an exhibition taking place at the end of this year. The venue will be divided into two areas where on the first floor, the works of Luigi and Cane will showcase the fantasy of surrealism. On the second floor, Antonio Cugnetto and Giorgio Tentolini’s works will present the collison of classicalism and modernity.

Luigi Franchi

Zino, stage name of Luigi Franchi, was born in Teramo in 1973. Involved and interested in contemporary society, from consumerism to globalization, from pop culture to youth fashions, his journey has been characterized by the use of different materials mostly belonging to non-artistic environments such as Lego bricks, PVC balls, 3D printing. The constant search for new formal solutions to talk about today’s society and the curiosity to experiment with different languages to test their expressive potential are the basis of his work.

Koons Dog, 2023, Symbiosis,print onPlexiglas,gold leaf
M&M, 2021, Digital print on plexiglass and Lego, 70 x 50 cm

Giorgio Tentolini

Giorgio Tentolini was born in Casalmaggiore (Cremona) in 1978, he trained in Graphic Arts at the Toschi Art Institute in Parma.Each of his works is born from a precise investigation of Time as memory and identity, in a careful and slow reconstruction that takes place with the study of light and the engraving of layers of different materials, fabrics, papers, PVC. Tulle and adhesive tape are the current medium of his search for the meditative lightness that its layers give back to the image, a metaphor for places and memories, dreams and visions. A pictorial work living the reality of sculpture.

Torso di Apollo, 2021, mesh cut handmade, 120 x 160 cm
Capitolium, 2021, mesh cut handmade, 125 x 85 cm

Antonio Cugnetto

Born in Lamezia Terme in 1983, after graduating from the Liceo Artistico in Catanzaro, he moved to Florence where he graduated in Contemporary Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence in 2007.Curator Carolina Lio once commented on Antoni’s work: His creation is playful but ironic, a stylized little man, as in a children’s cartoon or cartoon, seems at first glance to be part of a childish and carefree scene , yet a second glance at the work reveals the grotesque details of its violence. Antoni’s work reveals the hypocrisy of everyday life, both serious and not-so-serious, often confined to our repressed unspoken intentions or realms of thought. And his choice them in a poor and childish language makes them all the more poignant.

Instigate, 2023, Recycled, plastic and rubber, 25 x 43 x 25 cm
Instigate, 2019, Oil on cardboard, 50×35 cm

Cane

Riccardo Nannini aka Cane comes from a working-class family in Toscana. While studying for his bachelor’s degree in design at the University of Milan, he often participated in street sit-ins and protests, which led to the creation of a wave of street art. He contacted with many famous street artists (Bros 、 Abbominevole 、 Ozmo), joined Antonio Colombo Gallery and became new contemporary artist in Milan. The year 2009 was an eventful year in his life. What started as a tragedy turned into an opportunity  to face a new life. He began to think about the issues he had encountered throughout his life: freedom of will, human nature and social pressure. He lived frugally  and took the time to redefine his creative style and narrative abilities.

A Birthday Party, 2022, Acrylics on canvas, 114×195 cm
Nobody knows who started the fight, 2019, Acrylics on canvas, 60 x 90 cm
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Katharina Arndt Solo Exhibition

First Asian Solo Exhibition at Ting Ting Art Space

East German female artist illustrates her thoughts on the absurdity of modern filters and how consumerism fits in our society

Katharina Arndt was born in 1981 East Germany right before the two sides united. Even though from her birth till the unification in 1990, Katharina only experienced about ten years of communist society. This childhood life experience shaped her values and perspective, making her sojourn in Barcelona, Spain quite a culture shock and making her reflect on the different social culture.

For years, Katharina lived between Berlin and Barcelona. The two places are entirely different in national spirit, artistic cycle, and cultural sentiments. All of these factors and perspectives from the past communist East Germany made Katharina’s artistic perception, source of inspiration and her chosen media each possess their unique meaning and depth.

She grew up in a system and environment that did not have the concept of consumerism and a consumerist system but only consisted of people’s communes; years later, when Katharina was freely enjoying the Western consumerist products, such as beaches, sunshine, shopping etc., she could not help but start to reflect on this crossover of her social experiences from two opposite societies. She then took a step further and discussed the shallowness of human nature, and the behaviors and living attitude limited by all sorts of restrictions created by social media.

Showering under sunlight in Barcelona, lazily drinking iced alcohol or beverages on the beach, smoking from time to time… people are always taking pictures: of the sky, of the light, of the beach, of the food and alcohol, of themselves or each other… nonstop. After taking the pictures, people add on filters to embellish. Yet this heavenly sight, a series of filtered and perfect behavior and photos, yet when we put down our phones and look around, it is then when we discover the beaches covered in all kinds of leftovers, cigarette butts, and trash created by our behaviors.

Katharina ARNDT, Barceloneta Beach, 450 x 190 cm, acrylic on canvas, 2023

Katharina consciously chose to use a more childlike brush stroke, meant to remain a distance from the real world; therefore presenting things as they genuinely are.

Lines seemingly simple and rough are actually well thought out and designed. Katharina’s personalized artistic interpretation abandons complicated figurative description and depicts the objects through focused and conceptual strokes.

Katharina uses lots of manmade materials (e.g. PVC film, painted paper and fiberglass), glossy acrylic and paint marker as her creative medium, meant to use the smooth texture and visualization to mock our world now that is filled with plastic and over-materialized.

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“The More Loving One” Gemma Holzer’s debut Asian solo exhibition

Dreams Without You

At the end of 2022, Ting Ting Art Space hold a news about the first solo exhibition in Asia of Gemma Holzer, a British  based modern artist. Gemma, who is only 26 years old, spent a year preparing for the exhibition of “The More Loving One”.

As for the large-scale solo exhibition jointly planned by Ting Ting Art Space and TIN TIN STUDIO curatorial office, once again interpreted the possibility of art exhibitions with a new concept, combined various elements, and absorbed the core of the creative concept to tell a story.

A sad yet romantic love story from the source creator.

“The More Loving One” is taken from a poem by the famous 20th century poet W H Auden. This is the basis of the overall creative presentation and painting concept in this exhibition, and it can be said to be the source of inspiration for the entire exhibition. It’s a journey through loss, heartbreak, letting go, and moving on, while also echoing the art-maker’s ode to the man who was once at the center of her life.

Gemma Holzer reflects the imagery of childishness through her own heart, transforming the overall atmosphere of the work into the subtle relationship and distance between people after they grow up. At the same time, her works also reveal the resonance of the collective loneliness of this generation of people living in the post-digital era. Gemma has always used deliberately oversaturated scenes, sometimes bright and colorful, sometimes dark and ethereal, to depict her own youthful, passionate, free-spirited and exclusive memories.

Most of Gemma Holzer’s creations use the autobiographical character PinkBoy as the protagonist, and her creations are inspired by life experiences, interpersonal relationships, and self-growth. In Holzer’s creative world, PinkBoy grew up in isolation in the era of the epidemic. Similarly, in real life, the sincere connection between people is being swallowed up step by step by the rapid flow of digital technology. Gemma, or you and me who live in this era, are just like the Pink Boy in the painting who yearn for more interaction with the outside world, but are unable to extricate themselves from being isolated in their own small world.