Lea Embeli solo exhibition "Venus is the hottest planet"
shimokitazawaartsAugust 22 - September 7, 2025
1-7 pm
Closed on Mon, Tue and Wed.
*opening reception： August 22, 5-7pm
*Anyone can participate in the reception.
Shimokitazawa Arts is pleased to present the solo exhibition Venus is the Hottest Planet by Serbian artist Lea Embeli.
Born in 1994 in Pančevo, Serbia, Embeli graduated from the Department of Applied Painting at the Faculty of Applied Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade in 2017, and completed her master’s degree in 2018. In 2021, she came to Japan as a research student at the Department of Oil Painting, Tokyo University of the Arts, with a scholarship from Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). She completed her MFA at Tokyo University of the Arts in March 2025. Embeli is currently active as an artist based between Serbia and Japan.
In her practice, Embeli explores new visual representations of femininity. The figure of Venus—as an archetype of womanhood—has continuously evolved throughout history, reflecting the values of each era, from the Venus of Willendorf , Jomon-period figurines and beyond. To capture what femininity means today, Embeli turns to artificial intelligence as an essential tool.
By repeatedly feeding AI with symbolic images of women, it draws out outputs that absorb contemporary ideals—images shaped by unconscious desires and cultural stereotypes. Based on these AI-generated visuals, her paintings often feature vivid pinks, a color traditionally associated with femininity, lending her work a striking and glamorous appearance. Yet beneath the surface, there is an undeniable sense of discomfort.
The standardized Venus figures produced by AI serve as a direct visualization of the ongoing issues surrounding the representation of the female body. Still, Embeli continues to explore whether these AI images could act as proxies—tools to help women escape the objectifying gaze and imagine new ways of living confidently and authentically in their own bodies.
Artist statement
Venus is the hottest planet
Lea Embeli
I have recently been captivated by iterations of Venus, particularly in her earliest, clay form. These prehistoric representations, with their bold curves, expressive and diverse shape language have made it a pleasure to discover and analyze. When Homo sapiens first began to create, it sculpted the figure of a woman. And as is human nature, this figure kept evolving,perfected, reshaped and reinterpreted again and again.
Until it ended up in our present moment, inevitably entering into the realm of AI.
I explored different versions of Venus, drawing from both art historical sources, particularly Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, and contemporary popular culture. Along the way, I encountered an example that stayed with me. I uploaded an image of Beyoncé announcing the birth of her twins into an AI image generator. An image meant to represent a contemporary rendition of Venus didn’t just become a washed-out version of the original — it revealed the persistent biases embedded in image-generation models.
The original image, rich in maternal symbolism and cultural specificity, was flattened. The subject appeared paler, glowing with a sanitized, otherworldly light. Her body was reshaped into a symmetrical, airbrushed form, and her children disappeared altogether. What remained was not an image of motherhood, but a stylized figure made to satisfy generalized expectations of beauty and desirability.
On one hand, the existence of a non-human, artificial proxy might offer relief, allowing the real body to escape the burden of idealization. In contrast, the proxy acts like a sponge to absorb the objectifying gazes of others.
On the other it reinforces issues with representation and erasure that are long standing and seemingly unchanging for centuries.
What remains is a world where the once-worshipped, curvaceous goddess-mother is reduced to a hollow collage of unattainable ideals.
And yet, I can’t help but wonder: can I create this proxy for myself?
A crackled, uneven, many-limbed Hydra who dances on the edge between grotesque and beauty. If such a flawed body can carry beauty, maybe freedom isn’t tied to perfection after all.
If we can imagine new ways of seeing the body,
can we return Venus to her hot, fiery glory?
Lea Embeli
Lea Embeli is a painter, illustrator, and concept artist. She graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, specializing in Applied Painting, where she also completed her MA studies. During her studies, she was awarded multiple scholarships, including the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development scholarship and the Dositej scholarship from the Foundation for Young Talents. She is the recipient of the Aleksandar Tomašević Award for academic excellence, the ULUPUDS Award in the field of applied painting, and the Vučković Award for young artists from her hometown, Pančevo.
In 2021, she was awarded the MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship for research in oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, where she became a regular student in April 2023 to pursue a second MA. She graduated in March 2025 and continues to work as an artist between Japan and Serbia.
Beyond painting, she began illustrating books in 2016 for publishers such as "Zavod," "Bigz," and "Kreativni centar," as well as the French publisher "Fleurus." She has also worked in animation as a character designer and concept artist for studios including ToBlink Studios and Bunker in Serbia, as well as Animoon Studios in Poland. Additionally, she briefly worked as a teaching assistant in painting techniques at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade.
Exhibitions
"Pithecanthropus", Mitsukoshi Contemporary Gallery, Tokyo, 2025
"Bridge", biscuit gallery × NISO (London) Collaboration Exhibition, Tokyo, 2025
"Sorry, this is (not) for you", Atami Art Grant, Atami, 2024
"Grid Next", biscuit gallery, Tokyo, 2024
"Shibuya Awards", Hillside Terrace, Tokyo, 2024
"Watowa Art Award", Watowa Gallery, Tokyo, 2023
"Beauty of Big Format", Salon of the Belgrade Museum, Belgrade, 2023
"Beauty of Big Format", Salon of the Belgrade Museum, Belgrade, 2023
"Miraiten", Nichido Gallery, Tokyo, 2023
"Wherever You Are, That’s Home", JR Ueno Gallery, Tokyo, 2023
"51st Art Salon", National Museum, Pančevo, Serbia, 2021
"What Do You Think?" (Solo Exhibition), X Vitamin Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia, 2020
"Autumn Art Biennale", Sombor, Serbia, 2020
"Private Value", Swiss Residence, Belgrade, Serbia, 2020
"Out of Touch" (Solo Exhibition), Ostavinska Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia, 2019
"Festum", Student Cultural Center, Belgrade, Serbia, 2018
"This Changes Everything", Niš Art Foundation, Niš, Serbia, 2017
