Cuteness has emerged as a pervasive aesthetic in our daily lives, transforming from a simple visual quality into a significant cultural force. Its integration into artistic expression has evolved remarkably, expanding beyond traditional mediums like installations, sculptures, and paintings to embrace contemporary forms such as designer toys and museum retail spaces. This aesthetic naturally infiltrates various cultural domains, from industrial design and household items to fashion, digital platforms, and political messaging, transcending conventional artistic boundaries of time, place, and historical movements.
Artists across disciplines are drawn to cuteness for its unique ability to penetrate social barriers and create meaningful connections. It’s influence extends across diverse spheres of global cultural practices, ranging from mass culture to biological evolution theories, demonstrating how this seemingly simple aesthetic serves as a powerful tool for addressing complex societal issues. This universal appeal allows artists to engage with profound questions about human nature, social relationships, and cultural dynamics.
In Uncanny Cuteness: Aesthetic Dynamics and Social Impact in Contemporary Art, participating artists harness this disarming charm to explore fundamental questions of identity, examine global consumption patterns, and offer their distinctive interpretations of endearing aesthetics. The exhibition brings together established and emerging artists including Arkiv Vilmansa, Dennis Osadebe, Jonathan Hadipranata, Ruo-Hsin Wu, Tania Marmolejo, Yasuhito Kawasaki, Yokoteen, and Mie Olise kjærgaard, each contributing their unique perspective to this dialogue.
Through their works, these artists demonstrate how cuteness can be wielded as a powerful medium to explore themes of diversity, inclusion, and global economic relationships, while examining art's complex role within capitalist structures. The exhibition reveals how this seemingly simple aesthetic can illuminate profound perspectives on identity, global commerce, and art's position in contemporary society, challenging traditional notions of aesthetic appeal and cultural significance.
EXHIBITING WORKS
 Arkiv Vilmansa A New Decade, Beneath The Clouds WOUNDERCOATED™ Acrylic on canvas 120 x 240 cm, Diptych 2024 |  Arkiv Vilmansa FLORALSCAPE #1 WOUNDERCOATED™ Acrylic on canvas 120 x 100 cm 2024 |  Arkiv Vilmansa DARK BLUE ABYSS – BEING THE MYTH #3 WOUNDERCOATED™ Acrylic on canvas 170 x 140 cm 2024 |
|---|---|---|
 Arkiv Vilmansa DOMMA IN WOUNDERLAND #2 WOUNDERCOATED™ Acrylic on canvas 100 x 80 cm 2024 |  Arkiv Vilmansa MICKIV IN WOUNDERLAND #1 WOUNDERCOATED™ Acrylic on canvas 100 x 80 cm 2024 |  Dennis Osadebe Pact Archival Pigment Ink, Acrylic on Canvas 89 x 85 cm 2024 |
 Dennis Osadebe Lost Connection Archival Pigment Ink, Acrylic on Canvas 56 x 49 cm 2024 |  Dennis Osadebe Count The oranges Archival Pigment Ink, Acrylic on Canvas 102 x 150 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata Cubicle Acrylic on canvas 80 x 60 cm 2024 |
 Jonathan Hadipranata Communication Booth Acrylic on canvas 150 x 150 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata Exit Acrylic on canvas 100 x 80 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata One slice is never enough Acrylic on canvas 80 x 60 cm 2024 |
 Jonathan Hadipranata Modesty Acrylic on canvas 80 x 60 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata Boy, Man Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata Boy, Man Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30 cm 2024 |
 Jonathan Hadipranata Communication Cup Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata Girl, Woman Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata Girl, Woman and Dolls Acrylic on canvas 80 x 60 cm 2024 |
 Jonathan Hadipranata Girl, Woman Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata They All Wanted To Be A Queen Acrylic on canvas 120 x 100 cm 2024 |  Jonathan Hadipranata They All Wanted To Be A King Acrylic on canvas 120 x 100 cm 2024 |
 Jonathan Hadipranata Girl Acrylic on canvas 80 x 100 cm 2024 |  Mie Olise Kjærgaard Pink Fríeld playing Acrylic on canvas 50 x 40 cm 2024 |  Mie Olise Kjærgaard Wylie Game Acrylic on canvas 70 x 50 cm 2024 |
 Mie Olise Kjærgaard Wylie Game Acrylic on canvas 235 x 195 cm x 3 2023 |  Ruo Hsin Wu Shooting Stars Acrylic on canvas 116 × 91.5 cm 2024 |  Ruo Hsin Wu Night Cruising Acrylic on canvas 100 x 80 cm 2024 |
 Ruo Hsin Wu Summer Night Acrylic on canvas 104 × 86 cm 2024 |  Ruo Hsin Wu Spring Acrylic on canvas 65 × 52 cm 2024 |  Tania Marmolejo The Golden Hour Oil on linen 122 x 142 cm 2024 |
 Tania Marmolejo The Last Chance Moment Oil on linen 124 x 168 cm 2024 |  Yasuhito Kawasaki My room 2024-0902 Acrylic on Canvas 91 x 117cm 2024 |  Yasuhito Kawasaki Apple Tree Acrylic on Canvas 97 × 130 cm 2024 |
 Yasuhito Kawasaki On the table 2024-0901 Acrylic on Canvas 97 × 130 cm 2024 |  Yasuhito Kawasaki Boy straddling elephant 2024-10 Ceramic H32× W22 × D14 cm 2024 |  Yasuhito Kawasaki Boy with apple on head 2024-09 Ceramic H59× W28 × D26 cm 2024 |
 Yasuhito Kawasaki Boy straddling bear and monkey 2024-09 Ceramic H47 x W28 x D26 cm 2024 |  Yokoteen Spiral Oil on canvas 65 x 53 cm 2024 |  Yokoteen Crack Oil on canvas 53 x 65 cm 2024 |
 Yokoteen Straight Craping Oil on canvas 53x46 cm 2024 |  Yokoteen Gaze Oil on canvas 53x46 cm 2024 |
Artists
Arkiv Vilmansa
b.1979 in Bandung, Indonesia
Indonesian contemporary artist Arkiv Vilmansa’s iconic cartoon-inspired paintings emphasize two-dimensional forms through bold outlines with vivid and vibrant colors. Traditionally trained as an architect, Arkiv’s structured and critical methodology contrasts with his raw and unrestrained artistic expression. Through a self-developed formula that controls painting surfaces and paint texture, Arkiv’s pop cultured-inspired works explore non-figurative art and cartoon character paintings through the use of color, organic shapes, and canvas shapes. “I embody my newly found discovery in cartoon character painting. The colors, shapes, lines gleaned and were influenced by creative geniuses in the industry that I respect the most, Takashi Murakami and Nigo.” Arkiv's creative practice is informed by a high level of technicality, which has led to sculptural works and successful vinyl toy editions.
A longstanding creative practice led him to explore surface and texture in painting, which led to a body of work that was abstract and non-figurative. Today, his painting work adopts a combination of figuration and texture exploration. Arkiv's creative practice spans more than 20 years, in which he has collaborated with several international brands, including IKEA and Volkswagen, as well as his current collaboration with acclaimed Japanese clothing label A Bathing Ape.
Arkiv vilmansa has participated in numerous exhibitions from around the world, including the latest ones: “Metaphor of Memories”, Selasar Sunaryo Art Space (Indonesia, 2024); “All is Not What It Seems”, Lorin Gallery (USA, 2022); “BLOOM”, Maison Ozmen (France, 2022); “Muted Moment; Within Walls”, NDC Art (Hong Kong, China, 2022); and “Come to Light”, Element Art Space, (Singapore, 2018).
Dennis Osadebe
b.1991 in Lagos, Nigeria
Dennis Osadebe’s depictions of provocative surrealist imagery, meaningful symbolism, and playful humour are the bedrock of his work; an ongoing investigation of the perimeters between the traditional and the contemporary.
The multimedia artist and sculptor presently lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria. He originally pursued a career in business before embarking on his journey as a self-taught artist. With a BSc in Business Management from Queen Mary University, London, and an MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of Warwick, Coventry, Osadebe’s non- artistic background fostered his idiosyncratic perspective and style.
Osadebe’s distinctly vibrant work is centered around the idea of reimagining his heritage through positive, provocative, and progressive narratives. His practice utilizes a personal iconography that explores ancestry, technology, and the possibilities of humanity – a melange of elements of the past with the present, using his heredity as a starting point to instigate a dialogue between tradition and innovation.
Osadebe has participated in numerous exhibitions from around the world, including the latest ones: “Do You Know How To Pray?”, König Galerie Chapel, (Germany, 2023); “Modern Magic”, König Galerie, (UK, 2022); “When Power Plays”, GR Gallery, (USA, 2021); and “Inside Out”, Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MoCADA), (USA, 2021).
Jonathan Hadipranata
b.1995, Surabaya, Indonesia
As a visual artist, Jonathan Hadipranata's work is inspired by anime cartoons from his childhood. However, his work has a rather weighty concept behind it, and his child-like characters are portrayed with their mouths taped against dark and light backgrounds. These paintings are driven by his emotions and love for storytelling, symbolizing his experience and view of society in which we are often unable to speak up or be our true selves.
In 2014, he went to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Development degree. After almost two years of honing his foundational skills in the school, he has returned to Indonesia.
Hadipranata held his first-ever solo exhibition “Hide Under the Table” in Tokyo in 2021, the show subsequently launched his career as an artist and has shown his works in other parts of the world, including the latest ones: “Rythm and Repetition Vol. 2”, Aught, (USA, 2024); “Rythm and Repetition”, Medel Gallery Shu, (Japan, 2023); “Among The Crowd”, Medel Gallery Shu, (Japan, 2022); “Proxemics”, The Waluso Gallery, (UK, 2022); and “Inmates”, Aught, (South Korea, 2021).
Mie Olise Kjærgaard
b. 1974, Denmark
The sumptuous and often raucous recent canvases of Mie Olise Kjærgaard explore historical and contemporary understandings of femininity, women’s roles, and women’s representation in art and politics. In her early paintings, the Danish artist, who studied architecture before turning to art, centered on the built environment. She depicted actual utopian structures and dystopian fictions with series inspired by a deserted amusement park in East Berlin, an abandoned Soviet-era coal-mining town in the North Pole, and an invented flooded world called Moirania. To paint the latter body of work, she incorporated polluted water sourced from the Gowanus Canal in New York, where she had a studio for many years. In 2019, Kjærgaard initiated Disobedient Muses, shifting her focus to different waves of feminism.
In the years since, she has painted scenes inspired by the Suffragettes, the Women’s liberation movement, and Les Insoumuses, a French women’s collective that produced videos on the struggles of women in the 1970s. These series have become increasingly fantastical, with wildly athletic women and witches riding flying horses, dragons, and rhinoceroses. Gangs of women play tennis- racquet-guitars on Viking ships, or ride skateboards over each other’s bodies. They wear theatrical hats, topknots, or unruly, childlike hairstyles, and they often stare directly at the viewer, confronting the gaze with tense composure. Her deft treatment of eyes— intimately communicative despite their simplicity—is reminiscent of Chantal Joffe’s, and her bold linework recalls a jittery version of Alice Neel’s. Across her paintings, Kjærgaard employs a preferred palette of muted, neutral tones that erupt into rich mustard yellow, pink, and ultramarine blue. Her canvases are characterized by a brisk gestural immediacy and vibrant energy, with large brush strokes, drips, and layers. She achieves formal precision with few wellplaced, toothsome strokes, treating her medium with an assured, yet temperate irreverence.
Ruo-Hsin Wu
b.1993, Taipei, Taiwan
Ruo-Hsin Wu is a visual artist working in painting, drawing, and handmade animation. She majored in Animation at Taipei National University of the Arts, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and subsequently pursued a Master of Arts degree in Illustration at the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom.
Her visual styles are dreamy yet bittersweet, fluctuating between innocence and grotesque. The childlike appearance of her work has often packaged uncomfortable feelings and potential threats. Through narrative image-making, Ruo explores the relationship between humans, nature, and other species. Reflecting on her experience, she notes, "Nature is the crossroad of personal and collective memory. Upon moving to London, nature provided me with a sense of intimacy and familiarity.
Ruo-Hsin's work often unfolds against dark or white backgrounds. To convey the complexity of inner feelings, she employs the softness of charcoal, the depth of paint, and the delicacy of pencil, utilizing different mediums to express the diverse textures of the inner world. In her solo exhibition "Sunlight, Air, and Water" in 2022, she presents a series of acrylic paintings, exploring different moments of her childhood that have marked her through to adulthood. She links her creative motivation with the psychological concept of "transitional objects" - a soft, huggable item offering psychological comfort to infants in unfamiliar environments like how the artist projects her feelings onto each piece of work to adapt to changing realities and mental states.
Ruo-Hsin has participated in numerous exhibitions from around the world, including the latest ones: “Gentle Like Water”, ELI ERE, (South Korea, 2024); “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”, Vlab Gallery, (Spain, 2023) and “Sunlight, Air, and Water”, Cuturi Gallery, (Singapore, 2019).
Tania Marmolejo
b. 1975, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Tania Marmolejo’s distinctive Caribbean heritage and Scandinavian roots have greatly influenced her approach to creating contemporary art. Tania studied graphic design and illustration in Norway before returning to the Dominican Republic to pursue fine art at the Altos de Chavón School of Design. In 1998, she earned the Bluhdorn Scholarship, allowing her to continue her education at Parsons School of Design in New York, where she graduated with a degree in Fine Art and Illustration in 2000.
Her artistry is a powerful exploration of the human experience, transcending conventional boundaries and redefining the world of figurative art. Through her mesmerizing large-scale paintings, she delves into the complexities of gender, identity, and cultural heritage, drawing from her unique Swedish-Dominican roots. Marmolejo Andersson skillfully weaves a mysterious realm of enigmatic female portraits that elicit deep emotions and empathy in viewers, while simultaneously addressing social issues and promoting women empowerment. Her innovative approach to capturing emotions and conveying powerful narratives through her art has earned her a prominent position in the contemporary figurative art scene.
Tania Marmolejo’s work has participated in numerous solo exhibitions from around the world, including “As Far As Your Eyes Can See”, KIAF Seoul, Eligere Gallery, (South Korea, 2022); “The Dream And The Voyage”, CICA Vancouver (Canada, 2022); “elenovela Life”, GR Gallery, (USA, 2022); “Santas y Tígueras”, Museo Cándido Bidó, Bonao, (Dominican Republic, 2020) and “(In Between)”, Galleri Nord- Norge, Harstad, (Norway, 2018). Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions, such as “You Me Me You”, Nicodim Gallery, (USA, 2022); “Summer Camp”, GR Gallery, (USA, 2021); “Vibraciones Conteporáneas”, Lyle O Reitzel Contemporary Art, (Dominican Republic, 2021) and “CONTEXT”, Art Miami, Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery,(USA, 2017).
Yasuhito Kawasaki
b.1983 in Saga Prefecture, Japan
Yasuhito Kawasaki currently creates his works in a studio in Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, Japan. In 2010, he earned a Master's degree in casting from Kanazawa Art University in Ishikawa, Japan. He began his career at a casting company from 2010 to 2013, where he had the opportunity to work on casting artworks by Yoshitomo Nara and Takashi Murakami, which significantly influenced his artistic development.
Kawasaki became independent in 2013. His artworks often focus on self-portraiture and are created using FRP (fiberglass-reinforced plastic). In 2018, he met his wife, a ceramic artist, and began creating works in ceramics while also starting to paint. However, during the coronavirus pandemic, he shifted the subject matter of his artworks to explore themes of “closed space and the inner world.” He has been drawing in a narrative style, akin to a page from a book, telling stories based on his reflections on family, his surroundings, and his inner self, all while feeling isolated from the outside world. He often finds inspiration in mythology, with a recurring motif being the “Apple” from the story of Adam and Eve in his artworks.
Yasuhito has participated in numerous exhibitions from around the world, including the latest ones: “Apple”, Secret Fresh Gallery, (Philippines, 2024); “On the Table”, Soft Corner Art, (South Korea, 2023); “Hello Bear-chan!!”, Thinkspace, (USA, 2023), “Continuous”, Touch Ceramics Gallery, (Hong Kong, 2021); and “Self-portrait from home”, ART PROJECTS Gallery, (Hong Kong, 2019).
Yokoteen
b.1972 in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan
Masaki Yokota, known as Yokoteen, is a self-taught artist based in Tokyo, Japan. He is celebrated for his exceptional technical skills in oil painting, with his artistic journey beginning in 2010. Yokoteen's unique style is expressed through his characters, including Skateboarder Yokoteen and his friends Teddy, Koko, and Surfer Giovanni, often depicted on a beach, skatepark, or in underwater settings. By choosing feline characters that do not represent specific genders or races, the artist aims to foster a broader connection with the world.
“When you hear the word oil painting, many people may feel a heavy image, but I hope you can feel the oil painting more closely,” Yokoteen said. Since 2015, he has gained global recognition through his well-known series “Friends in Paradise,” which channels messages of tranquility, peace, and kindness. These sentiments are rooted in the simplicity of human existence and tied to themes of friendship and spirituality.
Throughout his career, the artist has held numerous exhibitions in Japan and globally, participated including the latest ones: “Summer Break”, ELIGERE Gallery, (South Korea, 2024); “Through The Forest to the Sea”, Maison Ozmen, (France, 2024); “PAR AMOUR”, Akrylic, (UK, 2023), “Blue Breeze”, Dorothy Circus Gallery, (UK, 2023) and “Day In The Blue”, Guy Hepner, (USA, 2023).