Exhibition title: ZLATAN VEHABOVIĆ : Dark White Earth
Date: July 20, 2018 – September 2, 2018
In October 2016 Zlatan Vehabović, one of the very best contemporary Croatian painters of the younger generation, took part in a yachting expedition the route of which extended into the last unfrozen region of the polar Arctic Sea off the coast of Svalbard Island.
The five weeks of intense activity during their stay included sailing, regular disembarkations on the uninhabited coastal area of the vast archipelago, active hiking and touring the inhabited and abandoned dwelling places and small towns of the region. The whole experience was documented photographically.
The role of the material recorded came to the fore on the artist’s return to the studio in Zagreb. With meticulous revision, the artist divided the recorded material into four groups of subjects, imposed partially by the very nature of the clime and partially by specific personal interests: the expedition, the landscape, the history and politics of the region and the ecological dimension of the artist’s experience of this extreme region.
Via collaging and the superimposition of different parts of the documentation recorded, 30 prototypes were created that served for the composition of the paintings that will be exhibited as the final product of this project. The final selection came down to 20 pictures.
The exhibition is curated and the catalogue essay written by Branko Franceschi.
About the artist:
http://weakersoldier.blogspot.com/
http://nagradaputar.scca.hr/en/artists/vehabovic.html
