Obsessive Compulsive Dialogue – The Original – 61cm x 184cm
Obsessive Compulsive Dialogue No. 21 – 154cm x 150cm
13 September – 9 November 2025
The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury
Join us for this evocative and thought-provoking showcase of art that speaks without words, created in defiance of the systems that shape us.
London-born, self-taught artist Kai Motta brings his striking new exhibition Abstract Asemic Graffiti in the Neoliberal Age to The Beaney. Merging the raw energy of street art with the emotion of Abstract Expressionism, Motta creates powerful asemic paintings—artworks that communicate beyond language. Each piece is framed within a border, a deliberate device that contrasts the freedom of the creative process with the rigid structures of contemporary neoliberal society.
Motta’s work explores themes of liberty, consumerism, and identity in the digital age. The bordered canvas becomes a metaphor for modern existence—where freedom is claimed but continually constrained by market forces. This exhibition features nine compelling works that challenge viewers to reflect on the balance between expression and control.
Motta is a London born self-taught studio artist currently based on the south coast of England. Initially he was hugely inspired by graffiti, street art, hip hop and skate culture. Later he became obsessed with the American Expressionist abstract art movement. He now exploits both mediums to produce his graffiti-esque abstract asemic artwork.
The paint is applied with uncleaned brushes where the paint has dried in order to achieve a hard calligraphic edge. The paintings are produced to look like they are saying something, with the brushstrokes implying the meaning rather than a definitive set of letters, building on the rich history of asemic art/writing..
Obsessive Compulsive Dialogue No. 32 – 47cm x 244cm
“The pieces themselves I feel are symphonic and filled with rhythm, energy and cadence as the indelible strokes bounce and tear, sometimes gently, other times chaotically across the canvas, much like the movement of different pieces of music.”
The Act of Transcription No.5 – 120cm x 320cm
