An Adventure of A Lifetime is visual artist Jeffrey Guanlao’s creative exploration of his childhood during which he travelled extensively on his own. Art and travel served as a place of refuge for Guanlao, who would sneak out of his house to escape the fear and anger he felt as a result of his tenuous relationship with his parents.

Travelling offered Guanlao an opportunity to broaden his horizons and shape the foundations of his creative practice. Consequently, his works feature deftly rendered landscapes, picturesque natural sceneries, and otherworldly creatures based on local folklore and myths.

Guanlao’s surreal paintings are filled with the mystical and fantastical, transporting the viewer to the ethereal, sometimes nightmarish, visions straight out of the artists’ mind palace.

The lush environments Guanlao travelled to fuelled his imagination and served as places of solace during difficult times. It’s during these periods where he thought of other worlds and lives beyond his own, and his art serves as a gateway to these fanciful realities.