<p dir="ltr">In today's socio-political climate, where subjectivity is valorised and personal truths take precedence, there arises an urgent call for artists to transcend individual viewpoints and convey "universal feelings". This seminar proposes an embryonic project that confronts this imperative, delving into the potential of art to cultivate empathy and imagination by communicating emotions that resonate universally. Our aims encompass the exploration of artists' methodologies in transcending subjectivity, the evaluation of art's ability to forge connections that transcend individual experiences, and the examination of strategies to steer art discourse towards acknowledging universal emotions within diverse painting practices. We assert the relevance of universalism in contemporary painting and seek to substantiate this claim through a series of studio visits, interviews, and workshops involving selected artists. Stemming from the individual research practices of Lang and Bracey, Lang will unveil his painting project, The Truth in Painting 1993, which intertwines the concept of objective truth with investigative art. Bracey will present his ongoing series, Self-ish Portraits, wherein self-portraits by deceased artists are recreated using intuition and tacit knowledge, thereby exploring the agency inherent within paintings. These instances of practice research will be situated within the framework of Universal Subjectivity to incite discourse during the seminar and to chart the trajectory of our project's future directions.</p>
