Andrea Festa is pleased to present the group exhibition Not too far, not too close, curated by Zhimin Zhang, founder of Willow Art Space. The exhibition brings together six international artists — Mary DeVincentis, Ṣọlá Olúlòde, Valdrin Thaqi, Elias Njima, Lisa Ivory, Zhang Shangfeng, and Ralf Kokke— whose practices probe the intersections of daily life, myth, imagination, gender, and personal growth. Each work creates a physical and psychological distance that is close enough to perceive nuance, yet far enough to preserve autonomy.
not too far, not too close draws on the widely known Goldilocks principle: the idea that optimal outcomes arise from a state of precise balance. The principle resonates across many domains of life — in astrobiology, economics, and developmental psychology. Standing before a painting is much the same: each scene appears poised on the edge of revelation, as if something is about to unfold, yet time still lingers. It becomes a way of perceiving and moving through time — where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going. It is an invitation to linger, to sense, to understand, to feel, to encounter life in its quiet moments, suspended in the grace of measured distance. Not too far, not too close — always just about to happen.
