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Dream Catchers

Duci Jović

ABOUT

The fragmentary identity in Jović’s painting manifests itself as a state whose consistency of foundation, from the very beginning, rests on the tension between black and white. Within his work, he establishes a dia- logue between two opposing forces that become the bearers of existential norms. Guided by emotion and instinct, Jović allows these to prevail over the rational. His unquenchable need to erect boundaries—only to then dismantle them—especially within the relations between figuration and pure abstraction, defines his practice. Confronted with the primary ontological dilemma of how to articulate conscious existence, the art- ist sustains tension and, in doing so, declares an essential experience transposed into a transformed image of identity. The interplay of fullness and void conveys an idea of wholeness that remains bound to the authentic- ity of the past. There is no doubt that the initial matter here reveals itself in the intensity of illuminated tone. By granting supremacy to white as the sole absolute, the narrative is gradually dissolved.

The primitive figure—emergent, dispersed within dusky black lines—is the purest echo of raw being. Through its effortless existence it silently attests to the principle of dream, which the artist skillfully introduces into the forms of reality. In a rhythm that never subsides, he constructs a pictorial myth of growth, so that the entire cycle Dream Catchers gestures toward the exile of darkness and approaches the phase of albedo. Seemingly effortlessly, he releases his self before diverse formats, and from the depth of his inner world arises a game played across different surfaces. Ultimately, each small study represents an isolated moment of insight, devoid of complex narration. The small format not only contains the entire ontological essence of a hybrid figure, but—alongside its enigmatic form—also evokes a desire for confession. His curved planes, dominant and forceful lines, act without ex- ternal mediation. This impression is furthered by the freedom of movement on cardboard, toward which he passionately reaches. With an almost audacious gesture, he simultaneously incises symbols and signs, then applies dense layers of white, allowing drawing to prevail over color. From a state of solitude and concentration emerges a new sequence of Jović’s creative interplay: the triptych Guardians of Knowledge, which first captures attention through its format. Here, Jović scatters elements of gray, adds shades of charred brown, and once again constructs an entire world anew. He chooses, within this natural impulse, to reconcile the principles of modernism, whose ideological remnants of constructiv- ism—beneath their rational grid—embody the form of the post-subject. The chromatic masses, vivid and vigorous, enrich the value of the luminous path. Within the raw scheme of a void white space, Jović confirms that he still holds his work together in a quiet chaos. In a moment of unfeigned essence, amid the existential grayness, blue appears. Its presence, though sporadic, bears witness to a moment of breakthrough. Boldly, without much restraint, he introduces the vertical dimension into what is otherwise horizontal. His work does not submit to the theme—for, ultimately, it follows its own laws. Indeed, painting revives memory, offering what is beyond reason, what is lasting, and each affective trace points toward the process of being itself.

EXHIBITION WORKS

Dreamcatcher I

Dreamcatcher I

Mixed media

36 × 30 cm

Dreamcatcher II

Dreamcatcher II

Mixed media

36 × 30 cm

Dreamcatcher III

Dreamcatcher III

Mixed media

36 × 30 cm

ARTIST