Lilly Varga "No Answer" | SETAREH Vernissage

In the organizer's words:

Lilly Varga
No Answer
11.09.-25.10.2025

Opening Reception
Thursday, September 11, 2025
6 - 9 pm
SETAREH Berlin, Schöneberger Ufer 71, Berlin

SETAREH is thrilled to announce our first solo exhibition of Lilly Varga, an artist who is living and working in Milan. The show takes place in correspondence with the 2025 Berlin Art Week. We warmly invite you to join us on Thursday, September 11, from 6-9 pm to celebrate this new exhibition of Lilly Varga at SETAREH Berlin, Schöneberger Ufer 71.

Varga's latest body of work shows the human condition in the 21st century. Her paintings address the agonizing lack of meaning experienced by western society, as well as the mere struggle to survive that can be observed globally. She addresses suffering in its various manifestations and gradations as an indispensable human experience, while simultaneously criticizing the sense of being lost and a progressive dullness. With work titles such as 'Like' is no solution, she denounces the narcissistically saturated, radical passivity of the individual who appears to be well-informed, yet is more disoriented than ever before.

While some of her works recreate the atmosphere of anxiety-filled nights, Varga simultaneously attempts to find possible ways past the screens that shield us from one another. Her work invites us to pause, slow down, to radically question ourselves and what we see in times when we are increasingly unable to trust our own eyes.

Join us for the opening reception to discover Lilly Varga's newest works on Thursday, September 11, from 6-9 pm at SETAREH Berlin, Schöneberger Ufer 71.

The Artist:

Lilly Varga lives and works in Milan, Italy. She explores what is left of us when the omnipresent, mass media dictated, overstimulating flooding of information and images is finally interrupted by the moment when we close our eyes. Our dreams assure us a safe moment for our innocent but also darkest desires, fears, aspirations and prejudices in all their radicalness. Varga captures figures in her paintings the way she sees them in her dreams. In those fleeting, transcendent, at times mystical, other times profane, still profound encounters, she confronts herself and the viewer. Driven by the concerns and beauty brought on by our current zeitgeist, Varga reconnects to the essentials of living - the inner music of things, people, and places.

Lilly Varga was exhibited in Fragments of a Fragile Future, a group exhibition curated by the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt in Munich (2025). She was assistant to resident Professor Curtis Santiago at the Oskar Koschka Summer Academy (2024). She is also featured in private and public art collections including the Vilsmeier - Linhares Collection.

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German:

Lilly Varga
No Answer
11.09.-25.10.2025

Vernissage
Thursday, September 11, 2025
6-9 pm
SETAREH Berlin, Schöneberger Ufer 71, Berlin

SETAREH is very pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Lilly Varga - an artist living and working in Milan. The exhibition takes place as part of Berlin Art Week 2025.

Lilly Varga's current cycle of works is dedicated to human existence in the 21st century. Her paintings address both the agonizing lack of meaning that can be felt in Western societies and the omnipresent global struggle for survival. She deals with suffering in its various forms and gradations - as an indispensable part of human experience - and at the same time criticizes disorientation and increasing numbness. With titles such as 'Like' is no solution, she denounces the narcissistically overloaded, radically passive attitude of the individual - seemingly well-informed, but more disoriented than ever.

Varga explores the question of what remains of us when the omnipresent, mass-media-driven sensory overload of information and images is interrupted by a single moment - the moment when we close our eyes. Our dreams offer a protected space for our most innocent as well as our darkest desires, fears, longings and prejudices - in all their radicalness. In her paintings, Varga captures figures as they appear to her in her dreams. In this way, the artist evokes fleeting, transcendent, sometimes mystical, sometimes profane, but always profound encounters with the subconscious. In them, she confronts herself and the viewer with this human experience. Driven by the questions and beauty of our current zeitgeist, Varga reconnects with the essence of existence - the inner music of things, people and places.

While some of her works trace the atmosphere of anxious nights, Varga also tries to find possible paths beyond the screens that shield us from each other. Her works invite us to pause, slow down and - especially in times when we can hardly trust our own eyes - radically question ourselves and what we see.

Lilly Varga was exhibited in the group exhibition Fragments of a Fragile Future in 2025, curated by the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt in Munich. In 2024 she worked as an assistant to visiting professor Curtis Santiago at the Oskar Kokoschka Summer Academy. Her works are represented in private and public collections, including the Vilsmeier - Linhares Collection.