Acntricspace

Photos from the opening of the exhibition: When is everything at once. With

New resident artist

Philipp Mettler is a Swiss abstract painter whose background spans global business, jazz improvisation, and extensive travel across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and, more recently, Asia. Having graduated summa cm laude from the University of St. Gallen, he committed fully to painting, developing a practice informed by Swiss precision and spontaneous energy in equal measure.

He travels because it nourishes his practice - and because it confuses him. Both, he finds, are necessary.

He is currently interested in translating the life stories and identities of Shanghai-based art lovers into large-scale abstract works. Using Marc Brackett's "Permission to Feel" method, Mettler engages his subjects in a collaborative process that transforms personal life experiences, as messy as they come, into energetic, raw abstract paintings. His work draws on influences including Gerhard Richter and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

During his residency at ACENTRICSPACE (March–May 2026), Mettler will develop the Personal Painting series in Shanghai, leading to a solo exhibition at the end of his stay. Who knows — he might just decide to stick around.

New resident artist

Mai-Li Helweg is a Berlin-based artist with a background in fashion design. After beginning her career at Alexander McQueen, she worked on textile developments for houses including Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

Her practice spans painting, textile, and object. Drawing on early 20th century embroideries encountered while working as embroidery designer in Switzerland, as well as elements of her mixed heritage, she explores ornament as a cultural language. Working with fabric and paper, she creates scroll-like surfaces that imagine a fictional world consisting of ornament and decoration as memory.

New resident artist

Abdelhamid Ameur is an Algerian-born graphic designer working across client projects, self-initiated work, and teaching. Using drawing as a performative tool, he explores various media and platforms such as paper, textile, ceramic, and digital spaces to connect letters, stars, ants, strangers, and experiences for and with communities.

Recent projects include his involvement in the speculative and empowering work in GLITCH-UtopiaDome50, the collective research and exploration of southern perspectives in the self-initiated Southern Drawing Club, and his teaching at HfG Karlsruhe, where he covers foundational skills and knowledge on typography as well as interdisciplinary seminars and workshops on AI demystification, medial projection of the Mediterranean Ocean, and video game platforms.