LOY Gallery Singapore is thrilled to present, under the patronage of our Embassy, Non c’è Rosa Senza Spine, (“Ain’t No Roses Without Thorns”), the first Singapore solo exhibition by Paris-based Italian artist Giovanni Leonardo Bassan.
Running from April 10th to May 30th, 2025, the exhibition explores duality, tension, and perception, bridging classical European painting with the raw energy of contemporary figurative art. Bassan’s layered compositions reflect Carl Jung’s concept of integrating light and shadow within the psyche, as well as Daoist principles that view duality as a force of unity. Through fragmented images, veiled figures, and recurring motifs, the exhibition navigates the interplay between beauty and pain, visibility and obscurity.
A Singaporean Perspective
Bassan’s exploration of paradox resonates with Singapore’s unique balance between modernity and tradition, control and spontaneity. Non c’è Rosa Senza Spine serves as a timely meditation on resilience, beauty, and the unseen forces shaping our world.
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” – Carl Jung
About the artist
Born in 1989 in Marostica, Italy, Giovanni Leonardo Bassan is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, ceramics and furniture design. A graduate of Politecnico di Milano, he draws inspiration from his travels and experiences in Paris’s avant-garde art circles. His layered, emotionally charged paintings have been exhibited internationally, exploring themes of identity, fragmentation, and the intersection of past and present.
