Aruta Soup：高度警戒 HIGH ALERT

Artist｜Aruta Soup
Duration｜September 30 – October 21, 2023
Opening｜September 30, 2023 Sat. 15:00 藝術家Aruta Soup將出席展覽開幕
Venue｜紅野畫廊 Powen Gallery（台北市中山區松江路164巷11號，10:00-19:00 週日及週一休館 Closed on Sundays & Mondays）

紅野畫廊很榮幸在今年秋季，帶來東京塗鴉藝術家Aruta Soup個展：高度警戒 HIGH ALERT，為觀者呈現溫柔與反叛並存的視覺演繹。Aruta Soup從卡通化、街頭塗鴉元素及批判意識的繪畫方式著手，作品具有叛逆與可人的混合風格，個人「繃帶兔子」的藝術語彙，在公共領域和私密空間的隱約衝突中，尋求一種自我平衡的姿態。

Aruta Soup先後於中央聖馬丁、坎伯韋爾藝術學院歷練了求學創作的生涯，在英國居旅的八年時間，使他有機會貼近倫敦這座城市的街角、牆面及社區的塗鴉視覺文化，嚴謹製圖或快閃書寫不同圖像，塗鴉是對體制現狀的不滿抒發與反抗，內在的自由精神追求，滲透影響他繪畫構成的思索，也讓他畫面的兔子主角ZERO，宛如置身於自我抽離與漂流的情境，隱喻著個體在社會關係裡的若即若離。

ZERO身上的繃帶，暗示著「受傷」與「保護」的雙重功能，他融入社會，在一個個小場域中，投注、書寫著自我的私密故事，或許在都會社交的流動狀態中，我們都養成了某種自我保護的意識，而他別具識別度的藍綠色澤，眼神裡有沉澱的靈光，散發著療癒的想望。

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Aruta Soup: HIGH ALERT

Artist｜Aruta Soup
Duration｜September 30 – October 21, 2023
Opening｜September 30, 2023 Sat. 15:00
Venue｜Powen Gallery（No. 11, Lane 164, Songjiang Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10459 / 10:00-19:00 Closed on Sundays and Mondays）

Powen Gallery is pleased to present HIGH ALERT by the Japanese urban artist ARUTA SOUP. Blending gentleness and defiance, ARUTA SOUP transforms this contradiction into vibrant cartoons and graffiti, all while unveiling the artist's more critical creative psyche. The bandaged bunny, caught between the conflicting realms of public and private, seeks to resolve these subtle everyday conflicts.

ARUTA SOUP received his training at Central Saint Martins and Camberwell College of Arts, respectively. During his eight-year stay in London, he frequented street corners, where he observed the urban landscape firsthand. He was particularly drawn to the highly visible street art in the graffiti scene. Whether created in a flash mob-like fashion or with meticulous care, graffiti has consistently been used by artists as an outlet for expressing civil discontent and as a symbol of social rebellion. Similarly, ARUTA SOUP's desire for inner freedom is evident in the numerous bunny compositions.

ZERO, the protagonist featured in nearly all of ARUTA SOUP's works, is visibly detached from their surroundings, drifting from one scene to another. Their self-conceptualization is repeatedly wounded and reconstructed in daily social scenarios. The bandages on ZERO suggest both injuries and protection, implying that ZERO, an active participant in life, writes their own stories and gives life their all. Perhaps ZERO serves as a reminder that we, the viewers, too, have all grown to depend on layers of self-preserving mechanisms, while ZERO, with their distinctive turquoise color and profound gaze, perpetually clings to the yearning to heal.

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