The Exhibition & Artist

This autumn London-born, self-taught studio artist Kai Motta brings his striking new exhibition Abstract Asemic Graffiti in the Neoliberal Age to The Beaney’s Front Room in Canterbury.

Initially hugely inspired by graffiti, street art and Hip Hop, Motta – now based in East Kent – later became obsessed with the Abstract Expressionism art movement. He now exploits both mediums to produce his graffiti-esque abstract asemic artwork.

Asemic art is a form of visual art that uses marks, symbols, or “writing-like” gestures that have no specific semantic meaning.

Watch the exhibition showreel here: https://www.kaimottaart.co.uk/

Inspired by Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a theme that features in Motta’s works. Many paintings are produced within an area of the canvas, masked off to leave a border around the work. Inside the border represents the studio, where Motta is free to produce his abstract graffiti asemic paintings. The border symbolises the constraints of the contemporary neoliberal world in which we all must function, the idea of liberty driven by free market competitive forces that now dominate all our lives. A place we must constantly return to.

Motta explains, “The canvas for me is a catharsis, an act of freedom, a place to be free in the Brave New Digital world. I am really excited about exhibiting at The Beaney for the first time, as it’s steeped in history and is such a great community and artistic space.”

Art Exhibition: Abstract Asemic Graffiti in the Neoliberal Age