Spinello Projects presents Dream animal, the US debut exhibition of Damien Cifelli. In this exhibition, Cifelli continues his exploration of the world of Tarogramma, the artist’s imagined society that mirrors our own yet diverges in fundamental ways. Through a suite of paintings and drawings, Dream animal invites viewers into a parallel universe where its inhabitants search for meaning and chase discovery.

Tarogramma is a world of Cifelli’s construction, where the norms and structures in our world are irrelevant. As such, dwellers of this place exist on their own; while plants are pervasive, animals are nonexistent. In one painting, a group of researchers gaze at an unknown biological specimen. Could this be the origin of life in their world or are plants the catalyst to answers? Central to Dream animal is the fictive documentation of researchers and searchers within Tarogramma—citizens who are engaged in a search for understanding, both of their world and themselves. These figures in Cifelli’s paintings are individuals with lives, dreams, and purpose. These people are sometimes collectively identified by gold pins and pearl armbands, and undertake various forms of research, from examining unknown organisms to exploring the desolate world of Tarogramma, in both transcendental and analytical realms. Their work reflects the broader existential questions that permeate Tarogramma, as both the inhabitants and the viewer grapple with the nature of consciousness and the limits of their understanding. In Dream animal, the viewer is an explorer, documenting and deciphering the world of Tarogramma, much like an anthropologist or ethnographer would study an unfamiliar culture.

The characters, environments, and objects within Tarogramma may appear recognizable at first glance, but they operate under an entirely different cultural code. In Tarogramma, symbols are imbued with disassociated meanings unrelated to what we think they could be. Iconography, such as flags or emblems represent regions that exist not as physical places but as ideas or states of mind. Tarogramma is a society without ethnic, cultural, and gender hierarchy. In this world, identity is fluid and chosen rather than externally assigned, allowing for constant transformation and reinvention.

The creation of Tarogramma is an ongoing process of simultaneous discovery and invention, where each new work adds to the whole and gains meaning about the larger world Cifelli has built. The exhibition presents these works as part of a broader narrative, where the boundaries of time and space are fluid, and the viewer becomes both a visitor and an interpreter. Dream animal is a reminder that there are infinite, unimaginable tools for making renewed sense of the world. Cifelli invites us to abandon conventions and embrace the uncertainty and endless possibilities of this strange and compelling world.