Tom Haugomat & Anuj Shrestha: Cities of Love
Curated by Jeroen Smeets, Founder of The Jaunt
June 6 – June 29, 2025

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Paradigm Gallery + Studio is pleased to present Cities of Love, a transatlantic-inspired exhibition curated by Jeroen Smeets, founder and curator of The Jaunt traveling artist residency program. In Cities of Love, The Jaunt and Paradigm Gallery have invited the Paris-based artist Tom Haugomat and the Philadelphia-based artist Anuj Shrestha to spend time and become inspired by each others city.  As a true exchange, these artists can capture the essence and community that fuel these thriving hubs of artistic cultivation with an outsider's perspective.

In October 2024 illustrator Tom Haugomat traveled to Philadelphia for his first visit to the City of Brotherly Love and spent his days walking amongst the historic streets, the brownstone houses, and parks and documenting the small and mundane moments of bliss within the city. Through his walks, Haugomat captured the everyday magic of Philadelphia through sketches of couples at the park or the skyline after a rainy day. While he explored the city he also met with illustrator Anuj Shrestha to learn more about the city through the eyes of another artist who has worked with visual storytelling much like Haugomat himself. A month later in November 2024, Shrestha traveled to Paris, the City of Love, to explore the historic French quarters, its world renowned museums, and capturing the daily lives of Parisians. Shrestha blends the real with the surreal in delicate ink drawings with imagined creatures inspired by his travels. 

The artwork of both artists now come together at Paradigm Gallery for the highly-anticipated exhibition Cities of Love. Haugomat has created an extensive series of his trademark miniature acrylic paintings on paper. Anuj Shrestha has created a series of line drawings and riso prints in his own signature style. The works combined showcase their unique eye for the surroundings in their trademark styles.

Both artists were invited to travel through The Jaunt, which is a unique art project that invites artists to spent time in a place they have never been before in order to become inspired. Since 2013, the project  has worked with more than 100 different artists over the years, and is excited to be back at Paradigm for a fourth exhibition together with Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia.

Tom Haugomat & Anuj Shrestha: Cities of Love will be on view on the first floor of the Paradigm Arts Building (12 N 3rd St) from June 5 through June 29, 2025, and is presented as part of Paradigm’s year-long 15th anniversary celebration.

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About Tom Haugomat
 Born in Paris in 1985, Tom Haugomat quickly interested in drawing and its narrative potential. After a year of studies in art history and archeology, he turned to an artistic preparation. In is in the school of Gobelins, section “Design and production of animated films”, that he discovered a passion for the moving image. He met Bruno Mangyoku, with whom he creates the short film Jean-François (Arte, 2009). He hopes to continue to build a world in illustration and to make animated films by mixing techniques.                 

His style is quite minimalist. It generally focuses on a detail and then lets the void play its role of highlighting. While using a range of colors much reduced, he manages to give depth to his drawing. His masses and overlays games, although worked digitally, almost intentionally invoke the technique of silkscreen he greatly appreciates and even uses in his book Hors Pistes (2011).

About Anuj Shrestha
Anuj Shrestha (b. 1977) is an illustrator and cartoonist currently residing in Philadelphia after having lived in nearly all four corners of the United States. He completed his BFA at The University of Colorado at Boulder in 1999 and his MFA in Illustration at The School of Visual Arts in 2005. His illustration work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, ProPublica, Wired and Playboy, among others; and has been featured in the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration annuals. He has won two gold medals for his comics from the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art Festival Awards of Excellence and a gold medal from The Society of Illustrators. His comics include Both/And (Issue Press, 2022) and New Fears (Issue Press, 2018) in addition to numerous self published zines and sketchbook collections.

About The Jaunt
The Jaunt creates unique opportunities and possibilities for artists. The project allows artists to travel the world and find inspiration – a lasting inspiration that potentially permeates their creative process. The Jaunt’s mission is to catalyse progress and feed fresh insight into the artistic practice of our artists. The first step in this process is taking the artist out of their comfort zone and allowing them to experience completely new surroundings. The concept is simple: send an artist on a trip to find inspiration. Jeroen Smeets founded The Jaunt and acts as the project’s curator and travel planner. With a background in art ranging from Editor-In-Chief to agent and gallery owner – and a variety of jobs in between – Jeroen started The Jaunt in early 2013 after talking to artists and hearing their repeated desire to travel the world. With The Jaunt he has found a way to fulfill their dreams.

About Paradigm Gallery + Studio
Paradigm Gallery + Studio® was established in 2010 by co-founders and curators, Jason Chen and Sara McCorriston. The gallery exhibits meaningful, process-intense contemporary artwork by emerging and mid-career artists from around the world, with a focus on Philadelphia. In 2023, Paradigm moved locations and opened its new 5-story, 7,000 sq. ft. home, The Paradigm Arts Building, in Old City, Philadelphia. Open to the public, the building boasts multiple floors of exhibition space, integrated in-house design and printmaking, a dedicated events floor, and art advisory offices. With this, Chen and McCorriston expanded their vision for the greater Philadelphia arts community. The gallery is at the heart of this vision, anchoring Paradigm’s overall mission of increasing access to the commercial art world, supporting artists and advancing their careers, and collaborating with like-minded partners to build a more equitable, sustainable arts economy for all.

EXHIBITION HOURS
Thursdays • 10 AM – 6 PM
Fridays • 10 AM – 6 PM
Saturdays • 11 AM – 6 PM
Sundays • 11 AM – 5 PM
And by appointment outside of hours.

MEDIA CONTACT
For all inquiries contact info@paradigm-gallery.com

LOCATION
12 N. 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

SOCIAL MEDIA
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