Seven about the reality 

09.05. – 22.05.2014

 

Gallery Konduktorownia

Czestochowa, Poland

www.konduktorownia.eu

 

Exhibition of seven Croatian mid- and young generation artists presents seven different and specific artistic approaches that tell seven stories about present and reality, stories that get close to each other at certain points. Through their visions, interpretations of the media and their own constructed way of perception, they present certain issues to the observer. By using different media approaches they analyze almost all the key aspects of our present, situations we think about on a daily basis, at conscious and subconscious levels – examining ourselves and our own personality, questioning and exploring the details of environment which surrounds us on a day-to-day basis, by setting these details on a new aesthetic level, and above all analyzing social statuses and events, norms and conventions, which are products of new times.

By the balanced power and sensibility Mia Orsag brings insightful work which attempts to examine and analyze some of the key metaphysical questions – life, relationship, identity.

Her sculpture 2/4 presents the mathematical formulation, the redistribution of ”safe and sound”, and of what is subject to change due to the impact of a number of everyday factors.

Two quarters are the positive energy, stability and eternal brace, while the remaining two quarters are incomplete, undefined and ready for the changes that the future brings and maybe at some point circumstances allow the separate halves become whole.

Patinated drawings of spaces and figures, which are here and at the same point they start to disappear, from the series No One No Where, are the result of her preoccupation with the present and the key issues; identity, existence and change, that she wants to share with the observer.

The very process of scribbling, drawing, erasing and scratching is very easily associated with time-consuming and painstaking process of knowing the world and ourselves, moreover the result of the search often remains vague and undefined. Mia’s drawings are trying to investigate exactly these extreme fields of knowledge and existence.

Works of Mirjana Vodopija, from the series Breath and Herbs are the result of research of ordinary, everyday elements of the environment, especially unsightly vegetation, which due to the play of light takes on a new dimension, bringing into question the limit of existence. A great source of inspiration for her work and research, Mirjana Vodopija finds in nature and through her experiments in various medias, such as graphics, drawing, photograph or object, she is able to successfully articulate her ideas and gives the opportunity to the observers, by broadening their horizons and possibilities of perception. Quite common elements appear in new forms and take on new characteristics. With the help of photography, the artist presents to us already naturally and clearly defined objects, which by the help of the limited light moments she transformed into her final idea – the border area where something exists and disappears. Her works as a result of patient research, conscious and unconscious moments where ideas develop, educate the view and raise issues about the infinite possibilities of perceiving the world around us.

Questioning of the border worlds, and her own personality and reality are brought in the works of Marina Fernežir, which she created in the last two years, as part of the cycle ”Alchemy of dreams”.

Marina Fernežir has a specific artistic style, built on the foundations of her conservation and restoration activities.

Through the works in this cycle we follow development of her inner worlds, which are the images blended with elements of reality, but still remained on the border between dreams and reality. It is a combination of concrete and familiar elements in the picture, figures and landscapes, with stylized elements of architecture and unexpected motifs, that allows Marina Fernežir’s paintings to transcend the banality of everyday life scenes. What was at the beginning an exploration of the basic elements of artistic creativity, resulted in a transformation of the motifs into visual language similar to the visions of dream worlds.

Elvis Berton presents works from three different cycles, moving from intimate Istrian porches over the stylized interpretations of the nature and the actual artistic perception of objects in it, to the criticism of today’s ”shifted” society. The work from the series ”Porches”, brings a touch of Istrian atmosphere, setting styled porch in the landscape of great tension, constantly waiting for the relief. Landscapes and plants in Berton’s paintings are styled almost to the limit, tending to represent his personal visions and perceptions of the living nature.

At first seemingly only lovable lemon motif, defined by the artist’s bold and specific visual expression, can be considered as a motive from everyday life, but Berton’s Lemons assume in this case another function – disclosing putridity, acidity and decadence of modern consumerist society.

Artistic tandem Žižić / Kožul directly and clearly present their work, which is based on the relationship between modern art and marketing of high class fashion and luxury industry. They are opening the question of recycling elements and phenomena of the contemporary art in marketing propaganda and what happens when contemporary art appropriates the aesthetic norms and rules of major marketing giants. They question the quality of the products that are on a daily basis served to consumers and the manipulation of advertising campaigns, which has found an ideal breeding ground in today’s time of impersonality of submission, apathy and dullness of modern society. ”Good taste” of the elite representatives of such society has long ago become questionable, and thus the taste of the vast majority of the world – a whole series of ”ordinary” people who often by all means go beyond their possibilities, in order to follow the ”dogma” of aggressive and manipulative marketing.

The works of the young sculptor Vojin Hraste are the excellent continuation of questions that opened Žižić / Kožul, but Hraste turns it to the perception of himself. Twisted perception of his own personality manifests itself in a self-portrait increased by 50 % compared to the natural size, filled with plastic hair, which transforms him beyond recognition, while subtly alluding to the popular ventures of installing silicone implants, which can change (distort) a man from head to toe.

Hraste clearly, directly and literally questions the giant of the film industry, Hollywood, which from day to day imposes a multitude of aesthetic norms and rules, whose correctness and logic is truly questioned just by few people. Entire film and media industry, bring to the individuals countless possibilities of ”correction” of their own personality, behavior, attitude and style, where it becomes clear that very benign is physical, and more worrying is its mental transformation.

Artworks of Tea Hatadi, complete this joint exhibition of seven Croatian artists, who in different ways and by various methods talk about the present and immediate preoccupations.

By specific aesthetic approach, Tea Hatadi seductively attracts us to focus our attention on her work, disclosing clearly and directly her private information, with a defined and specific attitude talks about her position of a contemporary artist, criticizing moments of the struggle for survival while taking her place on the artistic scene.

Contradiction is one of the foundations of Tea’s works, skillfully balancing between the composition of seductive and gentle, and strong, sharp, direct and to a certain extent negative elements.

Tea’s work Censorship of Happiness, clearly articulated artistic achievement, that is visually striking and attractive, brings a look at a relative term of happiness. Her colleagues, artists talk about happiness, which is closely related to their artistic creativity, sometimes it is a spark of happiness that came in an unexpected moment, and sometimes their luck is a result of negative situations. Tea’s censorship comes down to the visual aspect, using silhouettes in the background in sepia tone, draws the viewer to listen to them closely and examine their own perceptions of happiness.

This goes back to the starting point of personal analysis and analysis of abstract philosophical concepts, thus seven stories become the whole.

Sara Čičić