Non-Places｜ New Paradises NYC Exhibition

In a world marked by transience and transformation, Utopia | Non-Places offered a contemplative counterpoint to the theme PARADISE LOST + FOUND at the 2025 Spring/Break Art Show. Drawing from Marc Augé’s concept of “non-places”—spaces of impermanence like airports, hotel lobbies, and highways—this exhibition brought together a diverse group of artists to explore what happens when utopia is neither fixed nor found, but instead glimpsed, fragmented, or fleeting.

Artists Tiantian Ma, Chandra Fang, Rosie Kim, Shuling Guo, Jared FitzGerald, Lihua Chen, Zheyi Zhang, and Jun Kuang examined paradise not as a destination, but as a feeling that drifts across borders, identities, and time. Informed by personal narratives of displacement, spiritual longing, and memory, each work served as a portal into a state of becoming—a suspended space where the ideals of home, peace, and belonging are constructed and deconstructed.

Organized by Utopia Collaboration Inc., this exhibition was led by founders Jiajia Dou and Lihisng Wang, whose vision continues to bridge art, technology, and community engagement. Curators Huanzi Lu and Barbara Kasomenakis contributed their distinctive cross-cultural insights and socially engaged approaches, adding depth and diversity to the curatorial narrative.

The exhibition was further elevated by an esteemed jury panel including Hollis Taggart, Chang Liu, and Xilin Tang, who helped select participating artists and provided thought leadership on themes spanning urbanism, digital temporality, and speculative futures.

Highlights from the Artists:

- Tiantian Ma fused spiritual introspection with painterly fantasy to depict inner peace as an evolving state rather than a static ideal.

- Chandra Fang’s figurative works turned the lens inward, navigating self-identity through raw, expressive portraits.

- Rosie Kim blurred the lines between function and ornament, embracing desire and visual pleasure as vital elements of paradise.

- Shuling Guo painted with light and stillness, capturing emotional impermanence through subtle gradients and quietude.

- Jared FitzGerald juxtaposed classical ink and ceramic forms to explore nature’s symbolism across cultures and geographies.

- Lihua Chen wove public memory and personal reflection through multimedia installations, exploring paradoxes between spectacle and silence.

- Zheyi Zhang brought together Eastern philosophy and contemporary media to examine visibility, spatiality, and public art’s role in shifting urban narratives.

- Jun Kuang, as a former member of the avant-garde group UNMASK, contributed a sculptural language rooted in collective authorship and the dissolution of fixed identities.

In a time where borders—physical, emotional, and digital—are increasingly blurred, Utopia | Non-Places offered a moment of pause. Rather than providing answers, it asked: What does paradise look like when it can’t be possessed? Where do we locate ourselves in the void between longing and loss?

As part of Spring/Break’s radical and ever-evolving curatorial platform, Utopia | Non-Places stood as both an echo and an experiment—an invitation to lose and find paradise in places we may have overlooked

About Utopia.

Utopia. is an innovative international art platform based in New York City, dedicated to fostering creativity and sustainability through art, architecture, and design. Through its exhibitions, immersive experiences, and collaborative events, Utopia. empowers artists to make a positive impact on the global creative community.

For more information on Utopia., upcoming events, and future exhibitions, please visit https://www.utopiaevent.org/.

Media Contact: Utopia team: [email protected]