"Goes on without" is a research based group exhibition curated by Tami Han. It presents a selection of four artists from Emily Carr University of Art and Design whose paintings open a dialogue about the Kafkaesque, the concept of absurdities and hopelessness living in this Society. I curated two different groups of paintings to convey the comparisons and contrast to that idea of Kafkaesque. In Misa Sato's series of "Documentation of Summer '25" she wanted to express her simple joy she found in her mundane lives. Also, Shawna wanted to represent "what peace means to individuals" by representing in each of the baskets in her work "Gift baskets for peace Lily" These bodies of works show juxtaposed ideas to Kafka's as he often expressed the feeling of confused and hopeless as being an individual in this Society. Whereas, some of the artworks are aligned with Kafka's ideas such as Emma's "Hope" where she found inspiration from her childhood imagination away from the reality to find the spark. Emma expressed her confused state of mind by twisting the mundane daily lives with her childhood imagination. Also, In Ashley's "Gaze space" she confuses the reader with the illustrated shells that made the form of human face by chance. It looks like a face but it is not. Her painting is full of irrationality.
In our current era—marked by rapid technological change, including artificial intelligence, and economic instability—I find myself questioning what drives artists to continue one’s creative journeys and continue to make something with their hands. Drawing inspiration from the philosophies of Franz Kafka, this exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the irrational, the illogical, and the breakdown of cause and effect. Unlike AI-generated images, these paintings carry the intrinsic, personal, and human-human meanings that emerge from an individual’s lived experience. They are not pressured to come up with concrete, well-structured logical sense, but rather their value lies in evoking the confusion, disorientation, or subtle entrapment that can be found in the mundane rhythms of daily life.
Participated Artists:
Emma Lee
Ashley Chung
Shawna Ariel Becker
Misa Sato
Graphic design by Ellis Moltzen
Creative director: Leigh Phan
*The poster of Goes On Without* © 2026 by Ellis Moltzen and Leigh Phan
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Installation view of Kafka's coffee Roasting and Bakery with "Gaze Space" painting by Ashley Chung
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
*Installation view of Kafka's coffee Roasting and Bakery* © 2026 illustration by May Inkyung Namgung
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Installation view of Kafka's coffee Roasting and Bakery with "créme brûlée" painting by Misa Sato
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Installation view of Kafka's coffee Roasting and Bakery
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Paintings from right to left:
"Documentation of Summer '25 #1" (2025) 16 x 20 oil on canvas by Misa Sato
"Documentation of Summer '25 #2" (2025) 20 x 16 oil on canvas by Misa Sato
"Untitled" (2023) 24 x 32 oil on canvas by Ashley Chung
"Documentation of Summer '25 #3" (2025) 16 x 20 oil on canvas by Misa Sato
"Gift baskets for peace Lily" (2024) 48 x 36 oil on canvas by Shawna Ariel Becker
"Hope" (2025) 24 x 18 oil on canvas by Emma Lee
"The Empire of Scramble" (2024) 41 x 34 oil on canvas by Misa Sato
Installation view of Kafka's coffee Roasting and Bakery
Photograph © 2026 by Joy © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Photograph © 2026 by Joy © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Installation view of Kafka's coffee Roasting and Bakery
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Photograph © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Participating Artists for the prints on sale:
May Inkyung Namgung
Ashley Chung
Ellis Moltzen
Heewon Shin
Misa Sato
Daisy Kim
Installation view of Kafka's coffee Roasting and Bakery
Photograph with "Gaze Space" and "Blush" by Ashley Chung © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).
Photograph with "Gaze Space" and "Blush" by Ashley Chung © 2026 by Tami Han © respective artists.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (documentation only).