A guide to the Unknown Other. All images courtesy of Damien Cifelli, shared with permissionInhabitants of a Fictional World Search for Understanding in Damien Cifellis Vibrant PaintingsMarch 28, 2025ArtKate MothesIn Tarogramma, the imaginary world conceived by Damien Cifelli (previously) as a setting for his vibrant paintings, plants are plentiful, but animals dont exist. The landscapes are as diverse and enigmatic as its inhabitants, who commune with bodies of water, traverse the desert in a suit, and size up an enigmatic object on a dinner plate.Cifellis stylish figures investigate their environment to try to understand their place within it. Many of the paintings shown here were recently exhibited at Spinello Projects in Miami, emphasizing the artists recent focus on analyzing what life is like in this fictive world.I make a map in my mind but each time I raise my head it disappearsIn Tarogramma, symbols are imbued with disassociated meanings unrelated to what we think they could be, says a statement for his show. Iconography, such as flags or emblems, represent regions that exist not as physical places but as ideas or states of mind. This world is devoid of ethnic, cultural, or gender hierarchies, and identity is fluid and chosen, which encourages constant transformation.Occasionally, Cifellis paintings reference famous artworks like Wanderer before the Sea of Ice, which nods to German RomanticistartistCaspar David Friedrichs 1818 painting, Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog. Capturing the solipsism of the 19th-century work, Cifelli translates the view into an arctic scene of jagged ice, with the central figure wearing a coat decorated in symbols evocative of biological forms.Explore more on Cifellis website and Instagram.The trick is to know what you are looking forA new route to the interiorEverything that happens will happen todayDream AnimalGreen Fingers, Unit 14Infinite GroundAt the foot of the mountain, the land speaksWanderer before the Sea of IceNext article