I thought the title of the exhibition recently opened at the Forum Gallery in Zagreb, "Red and Black," had a political context, perhaps because I have been closely following events in Benkovac and Šibenik in recent weeks. But I was mistaken, as the young curator of the exhibition, Stefani Peršić, explains to me, adding that I am not the only one, and everything becomes clearer when you see the subtitle "Between Emotion and Ambition."
The newly opened exhibition, which you can visit until October 9th, was named after one of the works by Ana Bešlić from the 1970s, which is in red and black, and the main theme is female fertility. The curator was primarily reminded by the relationship of red and black of the famous Stendhal novel from 1830. She sees the book, and sets up her exhibition, through the following lens: what does the struggle for self-fulfillment look like in a society that imposes certain ideals as success; what if we don‘t have the same ideals? The young curator also sees a parallel with her own position: she lives and works in Labin, she says, fighting to create a good exhibition program with her colleagues on the periphery, while her other colleagues moved to the center, to Zagreb, to gain greater visibility.
Thus, at the exhibition, some names may be less known to the wider public, those from Istria, alongside those we often highlight in the foreground.
Yes, the centralization of Croatian culture is indeed a big problem; we have discussed this on several occasions. Furthermore, since Stefani Peršić specialized in Renaissance and Baroque at university, she also sees a parallel there. In recent years, there have been quite a few exhibitions worldwide dedicated to Artemisia Gentileschi. She is a brilliant author, we have written about her, but since she was a woman in the Baroque era, the world only discovered her later, it took several hundred years. Caravaggio, for example, was recognized immediately.
Overall, the exhibition begins with a framed photograph of a hen guarding her chicks, with a weight next to her. This is the work of Vladimir Gudac. Vladimir Gudac, as many know, was at the helm of the Student Center Gallery for ten years, at a time when it was one of the most relevant, if not the most relevant, exhibition spaces in Zagreb. It is difficult to literally interpret his work shown at this exhibition, which is full of symbolism, but as Stefani Peršić tells me, he photographed these hens in the 1990s, during the war in Croatia, so during the nineties. A different scene in those dark times.
We come to a work by Sanja Švrljuga, which reminded me a little, at first glance, of Tracey Emin, the author of a cult work of British art and her bed, but the story is completely different. The bed, white, is for her a symbol of calmness, childlike innocence. But as the years go by, that innocence is lost and the white bed becomes disheveled, with two high heels on it. This work is called "Experience," and it is full of disappointment. In the lower part of the gallery, in the center, there is also a work by the great Dušan Džamonja, as if we as a society have somehow forgotten about him, or so it seems to me, as if he used to be more present in public spaces. The "Metal Sculpture" from 1959 is considered one of his earliest works, in a new style of expression that would change the history of art in this region and which would be recognized by Europe.
One of my favorite younger-generation painters, whom I have followed since her thesis, is Emanuela Lekić, who always has a dose of mystique in her works, no matter how realistic they are. That is, her works have that "something." She has changed her style quite a bit and has moved into the third dimension. In her works, perhaps this theme is depicted most literally. Namely, she looks into a mirror, and in the mirror, a completely different image is seen. The symbolism is clear: who are we really, and who do we think we are, how do we see ourselves, and how do others see us. Below is an entire frieze with different facial expressions. There is also a work where a girl‘s face is shown in a red apple.
On the stairs is a work by Igor Grubić, and above is an artist who may have influenced him, Vlasta Martek. Here, the curator offers another connection: Martek, as is well known, has worked in a library for decades and earns his living that way, while simultaneously engaging in art, and the aforementioned Gudac was for years at the head of the Student Center. So, in that duality, his dual positions are also read. From Martek, there is a poetic and interesting work "To be a primrose by a dictaphone." Igor Grubić, on the other hand, with his agitation, invites a moment, meditation, to be here and now in a hectic world.
An interesting work is by an artist working in Germany, originally from Damascus. His name is Manaf Halbouni, and there are several of his works. He suddenly invented a new person and, with the help of artificial intelligence, shaped him; his name is General Hadid. The other, which I believe is quite interesting to us, reminds us of the history of what is today the HDLU building, which, as is known, was a mosque for a time. Halbouni collages photographs, so instead of HDLU, he places a photo of a mosque from Damascus, and the curator explains: "Privately connected to Zagreb, the Syrian-German artist thus brings the personal and ritual into a spatial city symbol, bringing two cultures closer with a common concept and indirectly touching on the topic of immigration." At the same time, "he brings a sense of home and familiarizes a foreign city."
This exhibition, in short, is the artists’ answer to the question of what it means to be successful—in ambition, in emotion, in art, and in life.
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