ARTISTS
Utopia
Peres Projects is pleased to present Utopia, a group exhibition with works by Sholto Blissett, Harm Gerdes, Nicholas Grafia, Donna Huanca, Bayrol Jim茅nez, Shuang Li, Cajsa von Zeipel and Ziping Wang. This exhibition explores imagery of mysticism as a vehicle for understanding the complexity and ambiguity of contemporary life and our unstable realities. While the title of the exhibition makes reference to Thomas More鈥檚 16th century book, De optimo reipublicae statu deque nova insula Utopia, the works also consider the Greek origins of the word Utopia 鈥� 鈥渙u鈥� meaning 鈥渘ot鈥� and 鈥渢opos鈥� meaning place or nowhere.
An earlier title of More鈥檚 satire was 鈥淎 little, true book, not less beneficial than enjoyable, about how things should be in a state and about the new island Utopia鈥�. This emphasis on the affective experience of the text (as enjoyable), is taken up by the exhibition, which focuses on mysticism as an altered state of insight and transformation. Works by von Zeipel, Huanca, Jim茅nez and Grafia encourage embodied responses, inducing mystic inner experiences. These artists approach mysticism as speculative systems, with a set of ideals and spiritual connections rather than narrative approaches. The sensorial and emotional properties of these works examine capacities for self-creation and reinvention.
World building as a function of mysticism is also a motif that runs through the works included in Utopia. The imagery in Blissett, Gerdes, Li and Wang鈥檚 works probe the boundaries of their surroundings as a means for understanding and creating environments. These visions of the world emphasize affective atmospheres, referencing the nowhere that is inherent to utopia. Mysticism is shared by many traditions and religions, which demonstrates its endurance. These works which span painting, video and sculpture consider the influence that mysticism holds over truth. The artists participating in the exhibition explore these properties and interpret them in their own alternate ecologies and queer futures.
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Peres Projects is pleased to present Utopia, a group exhibition with works by Sholto Blissett, Harm Gerdes, Nicholas Grafia, Donna Huanca, Bayrol Jim茅nez, Shuang Li, Cajsa von Zeipel and Ziping Wang. This exhibition explores imagery of mysticism as a vehicle for understanding the complexity and ambiguity of contemporary life and our unstable realities. While the title of the exhibition makes reference to Thomas More鈥檚 16th century book, De optimo reipublicae statu deque nova insula Utopia, the works also consider the Greek origins of the word Utopia 鈥� 鈥渙u鈥� meaning 鈥渘ot鈥� and 鈥渢opos鈥� meaning place or nowhere.
An earlier title of More鈥檚 satire was 鈥淎 little, true book, not less beneficial than enjoyable, about how things should be in a state and about the new island Utopia鈥�. This emphasis on the affective experience of the text (as enjoyable), is taken up by the exhibition, which focuses on mysticism as an altered state of insight and transformation. Works by von Zeipel, Huanca, Jim茅nez and Grafia encourage embodied responses, inducing mystic inner experiences. These artists approach mysticism as speculative systems, with a set of ideals and spiritual connections rather than narrative approaches. The sensorial and emotional properties of these works examine capacities for self-creation and reinvention.
World building as a function of mysticism is also a motif that runs through the works included in Utopia. The imagery in Blissett, Gerdes, Li and Wang鈥檚 works probe the boundaries of their surroundings as a means for understanding and creating environments. These visions of the world emphasize affective atmospheres, referencing the nowhere that is inherent to utopia. Mysticism is shared by many traditions and religions, which demonstrates its endurance. These works which span painting, video and sculpture consider the influence that mysticism holds over truth. The artists participating in the exhibition explore these properties and interpret them in their own alternate ecologies and queer futures.
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