On the occasion of its fifth anniversary, MONTI8 is thrilled to announce two exhibitions opening on June 20th: “Beating Loneliness” a group show which will be held in the main space of via degli Ausoni 57. The exhibition will run until July 25.

‘Beating Loneliness’ features the works of five international artists, all working for the first with the gallery and in Italy: Justin Cole, Gwen Evans, Alexis Mata, Kevin Sabo and Abigail Hempsey. The exhibition revolves around the theme of the barriers between the external world and the inner self, and how art can break these barriers to elaborate traumas, personal or political events or social anxieties, or build them to create a condition of isolation and introspection.

In Justin Cole’s painting this feeling of isolation is very strong, marked by the use of dark tones and a simple composition surrounded by mysterious atmospheres, combining a figurative style with astrattism. The same sense of loneliness is always evoked by the work of Gwen Evans, who reflects on the barriers bewteen the outside world and the internal mind and sould of the human beings, barriers that are often used by the artist to protect herself by the social anxiety. Social issues are investigated also by the Mexican artist Alexis Mata, whose practice connects elements of his country’s landscapes with the artificial intelligence. Through this dialogue, Mata generates new images that investigate rules and standards imposed by the society that he reinterprets with the technological element.

In the paintings of Kevin Sabo, social standars and tropes become the source he needs to create new figures, both men and women are depicted with exaggerated and unnatural forms deconstructing the traditional idea of gender and beauty. Abigail Hempsey’s paintings are focused on the exploration of landscape, whether it’s a mental landscape or a real scenery. The starting point of her work is her obsessive need to be outdoor that brings her to walk and paint what she sees around her. Her subjects are built on the contrast between bright and vivis colours and a hidden – but perceivable – sense of loss and sadness.