–Title Exhibition: TANG PING
-Artist: Tomas Hed, Hui Sun, Wallace Falzon, Spyke von Stripe
–Opening Night: Friday 28 February, 7:30 pm
– Dates: 28 February to 30 March 2025
– Venue: Arthall: 8, triq Agius de Soldanis, Victoria, Gozo.
– Opening hours: Monday/Tuesday: closed
Wednesday/ Thursday/Friday/Saturday: 10-13 and 17-19
Sunday: 10-12
– Website and Email: arthallgozo.com; arthallgozo@gmail.com
-Facebook/Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/ArtHallGozo/ @arthallgozo
DESCRIPTION TANG PING
Run, run, more, better, the best, me, I, here, success, fast, results, titles, higher, achievements, positions.
Run, run, productivity, time, meritocracy, overwork, pressure, isolation, fitness, exams, system, game, win.
Run, run? Towards what?
Tang Ping, the name of this exhibition, refers to a movement that originated recently in China and translates as “lying flat”. However, it can be seen as a global phenomenon that expresses a rejection of societal pressures to overwork and overachieve in an endless rat race.
What keeps us moving at a frenetic pace? Wealth? Power? Prestige? Image? Is there no way out? Are we simply trapped and condemned to continue like this? Does our happiness depend only on what we have in our pockets?
Why can lying down be almost embarrassing? Tang Ping does this openly and, in doing so, invites us to rethink how we can end up living in a depersonalized way, losing interiority and hijacking our own subjectivity. Lying down represents, in this context, passive resistance and a way of empowering oneself, far from surveillance.
At Arthall, “Tang Ping” becomes polyphonic art. In this exhibition, four artists express, in different ways and mediums, their concern about time, dirty competition, being trapped, kneeling down, losing autonomy, etc. And the need for the horizontal position to reconsider what is being served and see, if perhaps, we are being forced fed. To lie down is always an invitation to ruminate and delve into the dangerous unconscious mind, where the claws of control can not reach—or not for now—and where we stop being available.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
TOMAS HED
Tomas, originally from Sweden, lives in Gozo, where he lets his imagination and creativity go wild. Here he has found his place to exploit his talents: composing music and painting. He worked for many years as an Art Director in Stockholm, having his own studio in Gamla Stan, the old part of the city.
Always polemical, provocative and with strong opinions, it’s impossible to be indifferent to his creations. The spirit of his art is inspired by an indomitable character, with a special obsession for challenging values, or “bubbles” as he calls them, of our daily life.
HUI SUN
Hui Sun was born in Datong city, province of Shanxi, in China. He studied at Yunnan Art University and gained a master’s Degree. His graduation work, History Wheel-I, was collected by the Art Museum of Yunnan Art University.
He had numerous exhibitions in China, where he got the third prize of the Yunnan Young Artists Exhibition in 2012, and the third prize of the Yunnan Oil Painting Society Art Exhibition in 2020.
He worked at Yunnan Art University as an art teacher from 2012 to 2021. Nowadays, he lives in Malta with his wife, also an artist, and they have a studio in Swieqi. He is also a fellow member of the Malta Society of Arts.
WALLACE FALZON
Wallace Falzon is a Maltese-British artist, very versatile and multifaceted, as his works range from mixed media paintings to kinetic sculptures. His art has different modes of manifestation, although you can always recognize his unique voice.
He believes that art is an internal language that speak volumes to those who are ready to listen, always particular to each viewer. One of his most poignant sculptures, Lest we forget, is displayed at the Sliema seafront, remembering and reflecting on the hard times experienced during the pandemic.
SPYKE VON STRIPE
Spyke von Stripe is a Canadian born artist who has gained notoriety for his unique works of art since moving back to Gozo. With media ranging from airbrushed painting and murals to metal sculptures and installations.
His genius at bringing scrap metal and mechanical parts back to life can truly be seen in his impressive sculptures, done to be admired but also to touch and play with.
Spyke von Stripe strives to use recycled materials as much as possible within his art guaranteeing a unique and original flavour to each of his creations.