The Sasse: Where love stories develop
between art and viewer

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We've been trained to expect explanations. Artists write statements. Audiences look for meaning. Curators provide context. Visual art gets translated into words, as if the image alone isn't enough.

But what if we stopped?

For centuries, visual art stood on its own — a pure form of perception that needed no interpreter. Somewhere along the way, we began treating artworks as puzzles to solve, messages to decode. Language became the lens through which we view images, rather than the other way around.

This exhibition suspends that habit. No artist statements. No wall text explaining concepts or intentions. No thematic guide telling you what to see. Just the direct encounter between you and the artwork.

In this silence, something shifts.

The art reclaims its autonomy. Your eyes do the work language usually does. Without words directing your attention, you're free to notice what you actually notice — not what you're told to look for. The uncertainty becomes part of the experience. The ambiguity isn't a problem to solve but a space to inhabit.

Some viewers will find this liberating. Others might feel adrift without the familiar anchor of explanation. Both responses are valid. Both are part of what this exhibition explores.

Sharon Allicotti

Joani Share

Yuan Zhuang

Curator: Shuai Xu

Artist: Alexandra Green, Pat OConnor, Finn Hewes, Graham Cassano, Kevin Perrault, Kyle Pettyjohn, Melanie Tucker, Travis Flack, Sharon Allicotti, Joani Share, Bin Fang, Yuan Zhuang, Jingwen Cao, Alice Zhou, Danyang Sun, Xu Fang, Qian Lin