by Klaus Bereznyak
On Tuesday, May 6th, a fresh breeze of creativity swept through Clementina as the Xaraz Gallery unveiled a new group exhibition featuring seven diverse artists. Organised by long-time Second Life art advocate Michiel Bechir and hosted by gallery curator Veyot, the opening marked another successful edition of Bechir’s Art Walk series. DJ Niloy Kas provided the soundtrack, and the event brought together artists and visitors in a lively exchange, with many of the participants meeting one another for the first time.
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Bechir, active in Second Life for over 18 years, is known for his dedication to promoting in-world photography and visual art. He regularly hosts Art Walks at various galleries, combining his curatorial eye with a gift for community-building. Veyot welcomed the opportunity to co-curate this latest round at Xaraz, which runs through May: “As curator, I am always looking for artists, so it's a pleasure when someone else brings the artists. The organiser, Michiel Bechir, likes to bring people together in this way.”
The exhibition at Xaraz spans both indoor and outdoor spaces, including the distinctive glass-walled structure that has become a signature of the Xaraz Gallery. The show takes visitors on a journey through mood, memory, and medium: from figurative dance to abstraction, photography to AI-enhanced surrealism.
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Veyot also commented on the evolving nature of the gallery space itself: “I get new ideas for the gallery from each artist that shows their art here. They arrange things in clever ways, or add walls in unexpected places.” In the same spirit, the current show gives each artist the opportunity to express their own aesthetic and approach.
The show includes "Dance Energy", a six-piece series by Maat celebrating the emotion and beauty of movement. Adjacent to this, Malou Inglewood presents four softly treated Second Life landscapes evoking stillness and reflection. In the outdoor conservatory, Princess Tata, a Russian digital artist, offers a joyful series with a cultural nod to bright Mexican styles worked up by integrating AI and Photoshop with a sunny palette.
Nearby, on one side of a square court, Ourane NuevaVida's treatment of female forms suggests softness and sorrow, exploring fragility and resilience. On another side, Scarlett Auster brings three photographic portraits of solitary figures in the great tradition of Rückenfigur. One particularly touching piece shows a woman and her dog gazing out toward a misty horizon together.
On the third side of the court, Giselle Seeker’s trio of digitally hand-painted pieces plays with varying degrees of abstraction, keeping a similar palette across the swirling colour field of "Sea of Flowers" to a tranquil scene of water and trees.
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Inside the main gallery building, Elan’s "Digital Dust in the Winds" asserts a clear vision exploring contradiction, time, and the ephemeral with paintings boldly spare in places and strongly textured in others. Elan is openly critical of AI in art, and his works assert a deeply human, if restless, presence. If you do venture down into the main gallery building, do take a peek in the basement too ...
As a whole, the exhibition brings to light the multiplicity of Second Life art in a representative cross-section of subject matter and technique: from playful and decorative to deeply philosophical. Some artists embrace AI and digital enhancement, others reject it in favour of raw technique and conceptual depth. All of them, however, are contributing to the evolving topology of SL’s creative landscape.
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The Xaraz Gallery continues to thrive as a space where ideas flow as well as images. With the exhibition running through the end of May, there’s still time to check it out.
Visit: Xaraz Gallery: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clementina/98/161/31.
On Tuesday, May 6th, a fresh breeze of creativity swept through Clementina as the Xaraz Gallery unveiled a new group exhibition featuring seven diverse artists. Organised by long-time Second Life art advocate Michiel Bechir and hosted by gallery curator Veyot, the opening marked another successful edition of Bechir’s Art Walk series. DJ Niloy Kas provided the soundtrack, and the event brought together artists and visitors in a lively exchange, with many of the participants meeting one another for the first time.
.jpg)
Bechir, active in Second Life for over 18 years, is known for his dedication to promoting in-world photography and visual art. He regularly hosts Art Walks at various galleries, combining his curatorial eye with a gift for community-building. Veyot welcomed the opportunity to co-curate this latest round at Xaraz, which runs through May: “As curator, I am always looking for artists, so it's a pleasure when someone else brings the artists. The organiser, Michiel Bechir, likes to bring people together in this way.”
The exhibition at Xaraz spans both indoor and outdoor spaces, including the distinctive glass-walled structure that has become a signature of the Xaraz Gallery. The show takes visitors on a journey through mood, memory, and medium: from figurative dance to abstraction, photography to AI-enhanced surrealism.
.jpg)
Veyot also commented on the evolving nature of the gallery space itself: “I get new ideas for the gallery from each artist that shows their art here. They arrange things in clever ways, or add walls in unexpected places.” In the same spirit, the current show gives each artist the opportunity to express their own aesthetic and approach.
The show includes "Dance Energy", a six-piece series by Maat celebrating the emotion and beauty of movement. Adjacent to this, Malou Inglewood presents four softly treated Second Life landscapes evoking stillness and reflection. In the outdoor conservatory, Princess Tata, a Russian digital artist, offers a joyful series with a cultural nod to bright Mexican styles worked up by integrating AI and Photoshop with a sunny palette.
Nearby, on one side of a square court, Ourane NuevaVida's treatment of female forms suggests softness and sorrow, exploring fragility and resilience. On another side, Scarlett Auster brings three photographic portraits of solitary figures in the great tradition of Rückenfigur. One particularly touching piece shows a woman and her dog gazing out toward a misty horizon together.
On the third side of the court, Giselle Seeker’s trio of digitally hand-painted pieces plays with varying degrees of abstraction, keeping a similar palette across the swirling colour field of "Sea of Flowers" to a tranquil scene of water and trees.
.jpg)
Inside the main gallery building, Elan’s "Digital Dust in the Winds" asserts a clear vision exploring contradiction, time, and the ephemeral with paintings boldly spare in places and strongly textured in others. Elan is openly critical of AI in art, and his works assert a deeply human, if restless, presence. If you do venture down into the main gallery building, do take a peek in the basement too ...
As a whole, the exhibition brings to light the multiplicity of Second Life art in a representative cross-section of subject matter and technique: from playful and decorative to deeply philosophical. Some artists embrace AI and digital enhancement, others reject it in favour of raw technique and conceptual depth. All of them, however, are contributing to the evolving topology of SL’s creative landscape.
.jpg)
The Xaraz Gallery continues to thrive as a space where ideas flow as well as images. With the exhibition running through the end of May, there’s still time to check it out.
Visit: Xaraz Gallery: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clementina/98/161/31.
Klaus
Thank you for that wonderful review. Well described. Lovely exhibit. Thanks to all who made it happen.
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