Share this
For his solo exhibition at Shug Gallery , Pedro Kouba presents Dopamine Dreams, a new series of paintings that explore internet culture, digital nostalgia, and the emotional impact of life in a hyperconnected world
The exhibition draws on the aesthetics and language of the early 2000s — a time of dial-up internet, slow downloads, and pop-up windows. These visual references are used to examine how media influences our attention, identity , and emotional expression.
Kouba’s work blends humour with critique. His paintings highlight the tension between online entertainment and emotional exhaustion. References are drawn from a range of sources, creating a layered dialogue reminiscent of a reimagined Warburg Atlas. Memes, viral content, random internet detritus, and family photo-book images are reinterpreted through painting. The results feel familiar yet uncanny , like vivid, trippy memories that don’t quite belong to us.
The exhibition also reflects on the role of the artist today , pointing to the pressure to remain visible, to produce constant content, and to transform personal experience into online performance. Dopamine Dreams explores the tension between presence and burnout, speed and reflection, signal and noise.
Through this project, Kouba creates a space where personal memory and collective culture overlap, where painting becomes a way to slow down and reconsider the images that shape how we live, feel, and connect..
Pedro Kouba’s Dopamine Dreams opens at Shug Gallery on June 21st.
We caught up with him to talk about his process, obsessions, and what’s coming next.
Hey Pedro, what’s the vibe in the studio right now?
Pedro: I’m working hard, 7 Eleven mood haha, getting everything ready for the show. Halfway through the process, I scrapped a few pieces and made some ambitious changes, so now I’m fully immersed in the work until the exhibition. I’m also preparing a collaboration with Nude Project, a clothing brand. Over time, I’ve realized that even when deadlines and workloads are reasonable, I somehow end up putting myself under pressure. I used to blame external circumstances, but I’ve come to understand that I actually need that tension — it gives me a kind of rush that keeps me motivated and sharp. So, in a way, If I don’t have it at the beginning, I always end creating that scenario of urgency for myself.
Your work often feels like it’s caught between memory and distortion. What draws you to that space?
Pedro: Yes, totally. Looking back, those ideas have been present in my work from the very beginning. Through years, I’ve evolved and explored different projects, but somehow, memory and distortion always remain at the core. I guess there’s an inner drive to rescue fragments of the past. Revisiting those experiences helps me understand who I am today and how I relate to the world around me.
The upcoming show at Shug Gallery is titled “Dopamine Dreams” What can we expect?
Pedro: Smiles and maybe a few tears, haha. For this show, I’m presenting a new series of paintings that explore internet culture, digital nostalgia, and the emotional impact of living in a hyperconnected world. Through humor and irony — but also with a critical lens — I try to reflect the contrast between the entertainment overload we experience online and the emotional burnout it often causes.
Some of the references come from memes or viral content, while others are based on childhood memories, reimagined through painting. They pull from different sources but end up creating a dialogue between them — almost like a Warburg Atlas. Dopamine Dreams is about that tension: between being present and being exhausted, between speed and stillness, between noise and meaning. I wanted to create a space where personal memory and collective culture meet, inviting people to slow down and take a closer look at the paintings that shape the way we live, feel, and connect.
What’s inspiring you outside of painting right now?
Pedro: As a kid who grew up in the 2000s, so that whole chaotic, vivid universe is always bubbling in the background. I’m also drawn to the strange poetry of objects found in antique shops, the quiet treasures hidden in family photo albums, the outsider tags and sentences you stumble upon in the streets, and especially the bizarre, absurd images floating around post-internet meme accounts — they really fire up my imagination.
Any rituals or habits that keep you grounded during intense creative periods?
Pedro: I have a small garden that’s become a real anchor for me. It reminds me to believe in slow processes. Every morning, first thing, I go out to check on the plants — cigarette in hand — before I start working. After that, I get straight to work. I used to listen to music while painting, but lately, I prefer listening to interviews, podcasts, or just random trashy internet content. That background chatter helps me focus. At the end of the day, when I’m wiped out, I usually go play basketball with my friend Moisés. He’s totally out of the art world and play ball with him helps me clear my head and reset for the next day.
What’s one thing you hope people feel when they see your work?
Pedro: A mix of surprise and attraction — not just because of the beauty, but also a kind of unease. I think that in important things, there’s always an underlying ambiguity. There’s beauty in the sinister, and decay in the beautiful; in the present, I always find echoes of the past, and vice versa. That’s the feeling I try to convey through my work.
Pedro Kouba’s Dopamine Dreams opens at Shug Gallery on June 21st. Keep an eye on @shug_gallery_uk and @pedrokouba.studio for updates
