I FOUND YOU
21.04.11 – 21.05.11
“Nataša”, 2010 (left) & “Peter”, 2010 (right)
La Scatola is pleased to present “I FOUND YOU” a solo show with artist Živa Žitnik.
Živa’s portraits of her friends and acquaintances have the power to shock the viewer while tenderly embracing them at the same time. They are intimidating and in their straightness they are so fragile.
Aggressive usage of colours and violent brush strokes intimidated me when I stood in front of her paintings, especially without knowing where the subjects were looking at with their cold eyes. All the subjects of Žitnik’s paintings are a big question mark, a medium used by the artist to tell a story not about them but about the artist herself.
They will read your mind without even looking in your eyes.
They are all focused on imaginary points beyond and all of them are captured in a virtual space which exists just for a moment when the connection between the viewer and the subject is made.
By standing if front of these paintings, we are on the edge of our fantasy and the reality surrounding us. Are we standing in front of the emotions of the sitters’ or the artist’s, or maybe both? These faces influence us to investigate on the mystery behind them and perhaps on our own secrets. The backgrounds of the portraits are just monochromes without any indication of where they could be. But everyone is given a colour and they represent artist’s feelings.
Are we standing in front of the emotions of the sitters’ or the artist’s, or maybe both? How many people can we find in one painting in the end?
Find yourself by looking at others.
Živa Žitnik was born on 16 of January 1981 in Ljubljana. In 2005 she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Ljubljana with a degree in painting, and obtained an MFA degree in painting in 2008. She lives and works in Ljubljana.
PRIVATE VIEW
Thursday 21.04.11
6 – 9pm
An exhibition curated by Valentina Fois.
