HOLDING BOTH
Maria Hatling x Paloma Tendero presented by Apsara studio
A Million Dreams, 2026, Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 320, Embellished with thousands of 'invisible beads’ by Maria Hatling.
A Million Dreams reflect on biological inheritance, time, and identity. Every girl is born carrying between 1 and 2 million eggs, genetic material that links her not only to her mother but also to her grandmother. Three generations coexist in a single body from the very beginning. By the age of forty, that number is reduced to fewer than a thousand, regardless of status or circumstance, a quiet reminder that biology moves independently of modern ambition. As an adopted woman with no knowledge of my biological lineage, this realisation profoundly shifted my understanding of self. For much of my life, I saw myself as shaped almost entirely by nurture. Only later did I begin to contemplate the unseen genetic narrative I carry, even if its origins remain unknown. The surface of the painting is embellished with thousands of shimmering beads. Decorative and luminous, it echoes our tendency to curate flawless exteriors. Beneath that shine lies a reflection on inheritance, illusion, and the fragile, finite nature of possibility.
The work invites viewers to look beyond appearance and consider what is passed down, what remains hidden, and what quietly disappears with time.
Holding Both is a duo exhibition by Maria Hatling and Paloma Tendero exploring inheritance, fertility, and the emotional complexities surrounding reproductive choice. Bringing together painting, experimental print making, photography and sculptural installation, the exhibition navigates the intertwined pressures of biology, autonomy, and belonging. The artists consider what it means to inherit, not only through DNA, but through love, memory, care, and the quiet transmission of values and wounds across generations. Holding space for contradiction, the exhibition recognises motherhood as both fulfilment and loss, and childlessness as both freedom and ache.
Maria Hatling’s layered paintings draw on the memory of handwriting to evoke grief, tenderness, and the shifting expectations placed on motherhood, adoption, and care. Through mark-making and gesture, she captures a tension between control and chaos, love and absence.
Paloma Tendero’s sculptural work centres on the body as a living archive of biological and cultural inheritance. Using recycled egg cartons, she reimagines fertility as adaptation rather than perfection, challenging dominant ideals of health and the “perfect” body.
Together, their practices offer a nuanced meditation on womanhood, choice, and the legacies that shape us.
PAINTING A CHANGED ENVIRONMENT
Messums West
This beautifully curated exhibition brings together 38 international painters responding to ideas of changing beauty, ecology, and sustainability, alongside themes of place, memory, and identity. Together, the works reveal how our connections to the natural world can inspire both understanding and hope. I’m thrilled to have four paintings included in this spectacular group show.
TERRA III
Group exhibition: Burgundy, France
By Terra Exhibition, presented by Apsara Studio & Hautes Côtes, curated by
Jenn Ellis & Emie Diamond
I am deeply honoured that my etching ‘The Joining of Two’ is part of this year’s TERRA exhibition, now in its third edition. TERRA is the first monumental contemporary art exhibition bringing together leading international artists and galleries in the heart of Burgundy’s UNESCO World Heritage vineyards. The exhibition unearths dialogues between contemporary art, heritage, and winemaking.
‘The Joining of Two’ reflects my personal journey, from being born in South Korea, adopted and raised in Norway, to living and working in the United Kingdom as an adult. The title signifies the merging of different identities and cultures, expressed through layered techniques and materials.
Grounded in the ancient craft of etching yet imbued with a spirit of innovation, the work incorporates hand-painted Korean paper as its foundation. Upon it, the word mother is written in abstracted Hangul, forming the backbone of the composition. The motif of mother refers simultaneously to my biological and adoptive mothers, and Mother Earth herself.
Through this synthesis, the work explores belonging, origin, and connection, unearthing layers of memory and meaning much like a palimpsest. It is both a personal and universal meditation on how our roots, histories, and environments intertwine to shape who we become.