TELL ME Y

The TELL ME Y exhibition presents the latest productions of four artists represented by the Ljubljana-based Y Gallery. Tina Dobrajc, Mito Gegič, Arjan Pregl and Sašo Vrabič showcase their paintings created in recent years. Although their shared main medium is painting (as well as illustration, scenography, graphics, plastic arts and music), the works in the exhibition differ in their fundamental approaches, the construction of images and techniques used, as well as their messages and the way of communicating with the audience. Their practice within the current Slovenian art scene is exceptionally relevant in terms of content. They are united by a critical and occasionally humorous viewing of current social events and make regular references to a wide variety of artistic fields and popular culture. Each of them addresses the complexity of modern times in their own unique way, which is reflected in the diverse repertoire of paintings that represent the artists’ critical standpoint toward social inequality, war, human (mal)treatment of the environment and handling of technology. The iconographically and substantively charged works of all four authors are carefully connected in an exhibition that acts as a subtle yet extremely decisive form of social commentary.

Tina Dobrajc depicts absurdities and contradictions that—in relation to national folklore, iconography, cultural specificities and the environment—manifest themselves as a constant questioning of environmental and geopolitical issues and the position of women in contemporary society. Her paintings originate from the depiction of imaginary forest landscapes, which with their mystery and atmospheric properties evoke images of the pre-Alpine mountains and the area around Škofja Loka. By depicting female protagonists surrounded by wild forest animals and smaller figures, whose attributes remain folk carnival masks, balaclavas and folk music instruments, she creates an atmosphere of subtle rebellion and ambivalent engagement. The scenes appear as symbolic vignettes, where elements of local iconography and symbols of national and folk identity intertwine with current themes of surviving mythology, cultural politics, and gender. Her latest works show how the wild woodland is slowly but convincingly transformed into semi-urban areas, such as abandoned yards, playgrounds, hiking trails and parking lots. The intersection of two environments represents an intermediate space, where man-made objects, such as trampolines, slides, electrical wiring and architecture, intrude into the organic mass. The interweaving of various inorganic shapes and colours with nature, in relation to the tense artificial space, offers a more appropriate backdrop for human psychology, which, in relation to modernity, deals with isolation, alienation and a shattered comfort zone.

Mito Gegič applies the motif of hunting to illustrate the ambivalent, often frightening and hopeless situation of power relations, be it between social classes, races and genders, or between the resulting distorted power relations between man and nature, animals and the environment. In the artist’s oeuvre, images of violence, a captured deer, hunting ambushes, fathers, sons, policemen and dictators appear as a domestic allegory of various authorities and abuse the perpetrate. In his latest production of paintings, these are transformed into actual images of fleeing war, fatal shipwrecks, and failed attempts to cross the Mediterranean. He plays with the idea of ​​ultimate control, unwavering authority, and supremacy; he emphasises contradictions and exposes the contrast that establishes a satirical atmosphere and internal tension. In his works, Gegič uses camouflage tapes, which he paints over and repeatedly covers and reconstructs. These tapes are more obvious in certain areas than in others, where they are hidden between layers of vibrant colour. He finds his starting point for composition and main images online, using existing photographs, memes and references from popular culture.

Sašo Vrabič’s works refer to modern man, the technology we use and our kind’s involvement in a complex digital environment. With his interweaving of naturalistic images, texts, collages, graffiti and abstract strokes, he creates a unique expression, packed with humour and playfulness. He depicts figural scenes, portraits and cityscapes, based on photorealistic foundations. His most common themes are scenes from everyday life, with which he comments on the pitfalls of the modern era, high-tech tools, human behaviour, intimacy, and consumerism. We see people standing next to each other, motionless, staring at their mobile devices, while the world around them rushes on: depictions of banal moments and stories from our environment and adopted popular images from general media. Some works are extremely ambient, while others are very specific, focused on a particular figure, detail, or a dynamic and cinematically aestheticized scene in composition. Vrabič illustrates a consumer society oriented towards individualism, materialistic ideals and perfection through the use of light contrasts and the choice of colour; a relaxed stroll along the coast can, through the choice of title and framing, hint at human ignorance and a premonition of destruction.

Arjan Pregl creates oil paintings, where he intertwines modernity and current socio-political events with recognisable references to art history and fine art theory. His practice is a response to social events, often interweaving irony, satire, and sharp humour. His paintings, which are based on fleeting and unencumbered drawings, are made with exceptional precision. The artist skilfully and gradually applies oil around pre-drawn contours. These connect recognisable yet often intentionally contradictory references to the works of famous masters, different iconography and understanding of painting tropes. In certain places, he refers to abstract expressionism, romanticism and baroque paintings, while in others the reference is to Big Brother, Alfred Hitchcock’s films, internet memes and Greek philosophy. The paintings are colourful, haptic, the figures stylized, bold, engaged, shameless, sometimes mocking, but also aggressive and explicitly sexual. His direct and conceptually multifaceted works address social contradictions and contemporary issues and phenomena such as protests, sex scandals, war, global warming, patriotism, nihilism, surveillance, and fascism, all imbued with a subtle critical combination of ambiguity and irony. His latest large-format works slowly emerge from the strictly outlined path of painting, where the author becomes more playful, unencumbered, experimental and daring in the way he applies colours.