Solitary men see things that we do not see… They refine the soul through isolation, thought and continence.
Konstantinos Kavafis
Kinder than Solitude brings together the sculptural works of Matija Čop and the emotionally charged paintings of SunJing, in an exhibition that reflects on the paradoxical gentleness of solitude. Curated by Domenico de Chirico, the exhibition delves into how isolation, far from being desolate, can provide fertile ground for introspection, identity formation, and a deepened connection with the invisible.
Matija Čop’s sculptures—at once futuristic and ancestral—channel the organic growth of stalactites and stalagmites, expressing transformation through repetition, recombination, and logic of self-invention. Working in a process-based language rooted in materiality and abstraction, Čop constructs imagined identities and architectures that question the boundaries between chaos and order, industry and craft.
In contrast yet in dialogue, SunJing’s paintings evoke a solitary theater of figures poised between vanity, fragility, and grace. Referencing Chinese and Japanese art histories, Brueghelian detail, and cinematic staging, her protagonists embody the ephemeral. Her scenes are dreamlike, set in fictive time and space, exploring impermanence, identity, and emotional survival in a world steeped in uncertainty.
Borrowing its title and atmosphere from Wong Kar-wai’s visual melancholia, the exhibition moves through moods of alienation, reflection, and transformation. It offers not a retreat from the world, but an invitation to listen to the quiet pulse beneath it. The pairing of Čop and SunJing creates a conversation between form and feeling—between the solid presence of sculpture and the elusive narrative of painting—revealing solitude as both a challenge and a sanctuary.
