Whitestone Gallery Seoul is pleased to present INSOMNIAC CITY, the first solo exhibition in Korea by Aruta Soup, known for his distinctive fusion of cartoon culture, British black humor, and street aesthetics. This exhibition offers an in-depth experience of Aruta Soup’s unique worldview through a new series of paintings and neon installations inspired by the nocturnal streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo.

The exhibition title, INSOMNIAC CITY, refers to the restless urban scape of Shinjuku—particularly Kabukicho, a district known for its nightlife and shadowy allure. Beneath its dazzling surface, the city breathes a heavy air of ambiguity and depth, filled with desire and sleepless rhythms. These urban scenes form the backdrop of the exhibition, reimagined through ZERO—a bandaged rabbit navigating the space between reality and imagination—using a visual language that fuses painting, neon, and graffiti sensibility. On the fourth floor of the gallery, an immersive installation recreates the night atmosphere of Shinjuku—one of the key sources of the artist’s inspiration—offering a glimpse into the varied lives and complex realities it contains. This experiential space invites viewers to encounter another face of the city, where reality and illusion overlap.

Technically, the exhibition features chrome works with aging treatments, an experiment in embedding the raw sensibility of Asia’s backstreets into the refined context of a gallery space. Bold complementary contrasts and rhythmic tones draw the viewer’s gaze, while more subdued palettes provide moments of visual rest, creating a dynamic yet balanced flow throughout the exhibition. With his sharp yet playful perspective, Aruta Soup captures the essence of contemporary urban life and human complexity. This exhibition invites both newcomers and longtime followers into a world of layered resonance and unexpected reinterpretation.

At the center of his work is ZERO, a bandaged rabbit born from the void. Initially a hollow mimic of human life, ZERO gradually builds his own world through friendships, night walks, and strange experiments. For Aruta, ZERO is not just a persona but a being that embodies renewal in a fractured world. The artist positions himself not as ZERO’s maker but as a storyteller who follows his unpredictable path—much like the March Hare in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Ultimately, Aruta Soup’s work is a narrative experiment—one that mirrors reality while constantly slipping beyond it. By weaving together humor, trauma, urban sensibilities, and fantastical elements, he opens up new possibilities for perception, emotion, and meaning in the contemporary visual landscape.