Two meaningful visual explorations unfold simultaneously, opening space for reflection on the body, time, and history

Ara Contemporary brings an exciting art experience through its first dual exhibition program, currently taking place across the gallery’s two main spaces, the Main Gallery and the Focus Gallery. Both exhibitions, titled Doorway and ruins and blueprints, opened on July 5 and will run until August 3, 2025. The exhibitions are open to the public from Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM to 7 PM, and Sunday, 12 PM to 6 PM.

Doorway offers a personal exploration of Carmen Ceniga Prado’s work, reflecting the relationship between the body, emotions, and the undefined nature of feelings through abstraction. Ceniga Prado invites visitors to engage with the layers of bodily sensations that often go unnoticed in daily life. Her background in wood carving has deepened her interest in materiality and creative processes. However, in her current artistic phase, especially after being diagnosed with chronic pain, she turns to painting and mark-making to express the subtle presence and movement of the body.

She presents her works using a restrained color palette, enriched by transparency. The interaction between opacity and translucency creates shadows, light, and depth, encouraging viewers to observe the delicate shifts between brushstrokes. Ceniga Prado also stitches fragments of canvas together, resembling the process of piecing together understanding until a complete image forms. This reflects the continuous journey of discovering the ever-changing nature of the body and self.

In contrast, ruins and blueprints, on display in the Main Gallery, invites visitors to explore the connection between the past and present. This exhibition examines how historical events or contexts continue to shape today’s reality, and how interpretations of the past evolve over time.

The works of seven interdisciplinary artists, Agan Harahap, Dita Gambiro, Enka Komariah, Ipeh Nur, Irfan Hendrian, Lai Yu Tong, and Natalie Sasi Organ, encourage visitors to revisit the legacies of the past, whether they still influence the present or have helped shape modern perspectives and practices.

The metaphors of ruins and blueprints illustrate the cyclical nature of time, where the past shapes the present, and the present becomes the foundation for the future. The exhibition provides a reflective space where memory and imagination come together.

For art lovers and the wider public, these two exhibitions at Ara Contemporary offer the opportunity to experience a meaningful visual journey and deeper self-exploration.

photo source: instagram.com/aracontemporary

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