to mars, to explore
Tan Mu
February 14 - March 14, 2026
“I was looking at this image of the observable universe, and it started to feel like an iris—like an eye. I wanted to put that feeling on canvas, gradually turning it into a halo of collective light. When I look at it, it feels like it’s looking back at me.”
– Tan Mu
Tan Mu brings together works from the Observable Infinity and Mars series, presenting a meditation on perception at both cosmic and intimate scales. Across these bodies of work, the artist considers how vision is extended, mediated, and transformed, whether through technological apparatus or inner contemplation. The paintings move between vast spatial imaginaries and concentrated fields of light, suggesting that observation is never neutral but always shaped by scientific, philosophical, and spiritual systems that frame it.
Working in oil on linen, Tan Mu engages the deep history of painting while addressing contemporary questions about distance, knowledge, and interconnectedness. The exhibition reflects on how images travel across time and space, how light carries information, and how human consciousness situates itself within expanding horizons of discovery.
