Luka Kušević, Jurica Pušenjak, Josip Rončević - Iluzije

Luka

K U Š E V I Ć

Josip

R O N Č E V I Ć Jurica

P U Š E NJ A K kustos: Feđa

GAVRILOVIĆ I L U Z I J E Galerija PM 29. 2. – 17. 3. 2024.

ILUZIJE Feđa Gavrilović Nije teško biti deziluzioniran kada se baviš umjetnošću. Riječ je o djelovanju koje toliko malo ljudi zanima, a i oni koje zanima uglavnom su raspoređeni u neprijateljski nastrojene tabore. U suvremenom, individualistički nastrojenom društvu jako je lako relativizirati svačije napore iz perspektive ove ili one teorije ili poetike, ali zapravo sve je utemeljeno isključivo na osobnim sviđanjima (pa i Borges je napisao u jednoj priči kako su „hvaljenje i kritiziranje emocionalne reakcije koje nemaju veze s kvalitetom djela”). Čovjek se pita čemu sve to i zašto se, uopće, bavi tom umjetnošću? Razoružavajuće pitanje.

Pred nama su tri moguća odgovora, trojice slikara. Tri moguće replike na razlog likovnog stvaralaštva. Luka Kušević, recimo, traga za mističnom vizijom stva­ rnosti. Za ekstatičnim spajanjem pojedinačne svijesti (slikarove, ili one gledatelja slike) sa svijetom. Početnu inspiraciju koju pronalazi u realnom pejzažu on transformira u koloristički intenzivne oblike bogatog podslika. To stvara efekt punine doživljaja u koji uranjamo gledajući njegovu sliku. Ali, kao i svaki sljedbenik mističnih učenja, sam će umjetnik reći kako je temelj svega – ništa. Jednostavnije rečeno: kako je naše sudjelovanje u punoći života, u zanosu trenutka i u toj drugoj ili višoj stvarnosti tek iluzija. Jer, riječ je samo o običnom, svakodnevnom iskustvu koje se otkriva kao ono što uistinu jest: najviša moguća stvarnost. „Doživio sam prosvjetljenje i to nije ništa posebno”, rekao je Siddha­rtha Gautama. Slikarstvo nam pomaže da dođemo do te spoznaje okolnim putem – najprije ističući „posebnost” i „drugačijost” estetske spoznaje u specifičnom jeziku medija, kako bismo je, onda, vratili i integrirali u svakodnevno iskustvo.

Josip Rončević slika nešto što bi se moglo nazvati jezičnim igrama. Naime, u svojim se slikama zafrkava s misaonim konceptima određenima jezikom u kojemu prebiva naša svijest. Sva naša naučena znanja o slikarstvu kao što su, primjerice, znanja o odnosima figurativnog i apstraktnog, reprezentacije i ekspresije, ili o odnosima forma­ lnih odrednica slike, za njega su elementi koje rastavlja (dekonstruira, ako hoćete) i dovodi u pitanje njihovu ulogu, njihovu neprikosnovenost u našem spoznajnom aparatu.

Iluzija kojom se on bavi čini mi se da je iluzija jezika koji konstruira naše pojmove. Njegova arbitrarnost samo naglašava arbitrarnost tih tobože čvrstih pojmovnih konstrukata.

Konkretno, na ovim slikama on bocka tu pompoznu riječ kojom se teoretičari umjetnosti

tako olako razbacuju, a to je „referencija”. Apstraktnu, dakle nereferentnu kompoziciju, on ponavlja dva puta. Na taj način ona postaje referentna – referira se na nešto što već postoji, odnosno na prvu takvu naslikanu kompoziciju. Rončević se ismijava žargonu i svima koji misle da njime mogu obuhvatiti svijet i ljudske kreativne napore u svim njihovim brojnim pojavnostima. Ismijava se taštom intelektualizmu zapadnog čovjeka upravo intelektualnom šalom.

A tu je i Jurica Pušenjak. Partizan, revolucionar, graditelj spomenika i rušitelj dogmi. Pritom mislim na njegovu gradnju impozantnog slikarskog spomenika narodnim herojima prije nekoliko godina i na ikonoklastičan pristup božanstvu dana­ šnjeg liberalnog svijeta – moneti. U novom ciklusu on uvećava američki dolar, sovje­ tsku rublju i jugoslavenski dinar. Ekonomske temelje triju režima, od kojih je jedan još i danas aktualan u svojoj svjetskoj hegemoniji. Novac je, jednako kao i država i jednako kao i sociopolitički režim, stvar konsenzusa, ili bolje reći ideologije – sustava koji vladari društva nameću svijestima podanika. Unutar ideologije (kao i unutar jezika) odvijaju se naši životi. Slikajući uvećane novčanice, sa svim finim linijama njihove izvorne litografske gradnje, Jurica Pušenjak ističe njihovu apsurdnu moć nad ljudskim životima, ali time ističe i taj njezin apsurd. Ukazuje na nepostojanost ekonomskog (i svakog drugog, ideološki konstruiranog) temelja društva, posebice zato što slika i monete država čija je ekonomska i politička stvarnost nestala i čije su novčanice danas samo kolekcionarski artefakti, uglavnom bezvrijedni predmeti koji mogu poslužiti tek za estetsku ili povijesnu refleksiju. Opet smo se susreli s nepostojanošću stvarnosti.

Ostalo je još jedno pitanje „zašto”, a ono se odnosi na mene. Zašto mislim da mogu, na temelju nekih svojih naučenih znanja, spojiti ovu trojicu umjetnika i opravdati njihovo stvaralaštvo kroz aspekt spoznajnih iluzionizama? Jesam li želio, predloživši njihovu zajedničku izložbu, ukazati na iluzornu prirodu svega što postoji, koju duboko osjećam, ili je i to samo konstrukcija kojom (više ili manje uspješno) opravdavam svoj angažman i angažman ovih umjetnika? Ne znam odgovor, ali mislim da nitko ne može vidjeti ništa izvan svoje vlastite iluzije.

ILLUSIONS Feđa Gavrilović It is not hard to be disillusioned when dealing with art. It is an endeavour that interests so few people, and those who are interested are often divided into hostile factions. In contemporary, individualistically inclined society, it is very easy to relativize everyone's efforts from the perspective of this or that theory or poetics, but in reality, everything is based solely on personal preferences (even Borges wrote in one story that “praising and criticizing are emotional reactions that have nothing to do with the quality of the work”). One wonders what is the purpose of it all and why would one engage in art at all.

A disarming question.

Before us are three possible answers, by the three painters. Three po­ ssible answers to the reason for the artistic creation. For instance, Luka Kušević seeks a mystical vision of reality. For the ecstatic merging of individual consciousness (the painter's, or that of the viewer of the painting) with the world. He transforms the initial inspiration he finds in the real landscape into intensely colourful forms of a rich sublayer.

This creates the effect of a full experience into which we immerse ourselves when looking at his painting. However, like any follower of mystical teachings, the artist himself will say that the foundation of everything is - nothing. Simply put: our participation in the fullness of life, in the ecstasy of the moment, and in that other or higher reality is just an illusion. For it is merely an ordinary, everyday experience that reveals itself as what it truly is: the highest possible reality. “I have experienced enlightenment, and it's nothing special,” said Siddhartha Gautama. Painting helps us reach this realization through a roundabout path - first emphasizing the “uniqueness” and “different nature” of aesthe­ tic knowledge in the specific language of the medium, only to then return and integrate it into everyday experience.

Josip Rončević paints something that could be called linguistic games.

Namely, in his paintings, he plays around with conceptual ideas defined by the language in which our consciousness resides. All our learned knowledge about painting, such as, for example, knowledge about the relationships between the figurative and the abstract, representation and expression, or the relationships of formal determinants of the painting, are the elements that he disassembles (deconstructs, if you will) and questions their

role, their inviolability in our cognitive apparatus. The illusion he deals with seems to be the illusion of language that constructs our concepts. Its arbitrariness only emphasizes the arbitrariness of these supposedly solid conceptual constructs. In particular, in these paintings, he pokes at that pompous word that art theorists so easily throw around, which is “reference.” He repeats the abstract, hence non-referential composition twice.

In this way, it becomes referential - referring to something that already exists, namely the first such painted composition. Rončević mocks the jargon and all those who think it can encompass the world and human creative efforts in all their many manifestations.

He ridicules the vanity of Western intellectualism through intellectual humour.

And then there is Jurica Pušenjak. Partisan, revolutionary, monument builder, and destroyer of dogmas. I am referring to his construction of an impressive monument to national heroes a few years ago and his iconoclastic approach to the deity of today's liberal world – money. In his new series, he enlarges the American dollar, the Soviet ruble, and the Yugoslav dinar. The economic foundations of three regimes, one of which is still relevant today in its global hegemony. Money, like the state and like the socio-political regime, is a matter of consensus, or rather, ideology – a system imposed by the rulers of society on the consciousness of subjects. Within ideology (as well as within language), our lives take place. By painting enlarged banknotes, with all the fine lines of their original lithographic construction, Jurica Pušenjak emphasizes their absurd power over human lives but, in doing so, highlights that absurdity. He points to the impermanence of the economic (and every other ideologically constructed) foundation of society, especially because the images and coins represent states whose economic and political reality has disappeared, and whose banknotes are now merely collectible artifacts, mostly worthless items that can only serve for aesthetic or historical reflection.

Once again, we are confronted with the instability of reality.

There remains one more question, “why,” and it pertains to me. Why do I think that, based on some of my acquired knowledge, I can bring these three artists together and justify their creativity through the aspect of cognitive illusions? By proposing their joint exhibition, did I want to point out the illusory nature of everything that exists, a sentiment I deeply feel, or is that also just a construct through which I (more or less successfully) justify my engagement and the engagement of these artists? I do not have the answer, but I believe that no one can see anything beyond their own illusion.

Ovremenjeni prostor / Temporalised space

Foto: I. P.

Crtež s fusnotama / A Drawing with Footnotes

Foto: J. V.

Obelus – Obeliks / Obelus – Obelix

Foto: J. V.

Repeticija i ponavljanje / Repetition and Iteration

Foto: J. V.

Dolar / Dollar

Foto: Š. B.

Rubalj / Ruble

Foto: F. B.

LUKA KUŠEVIĆ rođen je 1993. godine u Zagrebu gdje je završio Školu za primijenjenu umjetnost i dizajn. Godine 2017. diplomirao je na Odsjeku za slikarstvo na Akademiji likovnih umjetnosti u Zagrebu, u klasi prof. Zoltana Novaka. Samostalno izlaže od 2018., a ističu se izložbe u Galeriji Forum 2018., Galeriji Matice hrvatske 2022. i Galeriji SC 2022.

Redovno izlaže i na mnogim skupnim izložbama od kojih se ističu Erste fragmenti 16 2020. i 57. zagrebački salon 2022. Živi i radi u Zagrebu.

JOSIP RONČEVIĆ rođen je u Zadru 1991. godine. U Zagrebu je 2015. diplomirao na Grafi­ čkom fakultetu, a na slikarskom odsjeku Akademije likovnih umjetnosti je 2020. diplomirao sa pohvalom iz latinske klasifikacije summa cum laude.

Dosad je izlagao na devet samostalnih (Izgraditi brod, Galerija MH; Doskočiti daljini, Galerija Zlati Ajngel; Učinci proljetnog pospremanja, Galerija SC; Dani radija, Galerija Karas) i tridesetak skupnih izložbi od kojih se mogu istaknuti Igra sporta i umjetnosti (HDLU, Zagreb), Erste fragmenti 16 (Lauba, Zagreb) i 35. salon mladih (HDLU, Zagreb) pri kojem je sunagrađen „Nagradom Iva Vraneković – Vladimir Dodig Trokut, umjetnici umjetniku”. Bio je finalist Nagrade Radoslav Putar za 2023. godinu.

JURICA PUŠENJAK rođen je 1996. u Zagrebu. Godine 2020. diplomirao je na slikarskom odsjeku ALU u klasi Zoltana Novaka. Od 2018. djeluje kroz niz skupnih i žiriranih izložbi od kojih se ističu 5. i 6. bijenale slikarstva u domu HDLU-a, Erste fragmenti 16 i 19 u Laubi, izlaganje i koautorstvo na izložbi Tartagline police u Galeriji Forum te izložba koja je okupila dobitnike Nagrade Vladimir Dodik Trokut, Iva Vraneković „umjetnici umjetniku” – Ljubav na posljednji pogled/novac je vječan, a ljudski život je prolazan – u Galeriji Bačva.

Godine 2022. izlaže na prvoj samostalnoj izložbi, pod nazivom Heroji, u Galeriji Bačva.

LUKA KUŠEVIĆ, born in Zagreb in 1993, completed his education at the School of Applied Arts and Design in the same city. In 2017, he earned his degree from the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in the class of Professor Zoltan Novak. Since 2018, Luka has been showcasing his artistic talent through solo exhibitions, notably at the Forum Gallery in 2018, the Matica hrvatska Gallery in 2022, and the Student Center Gallery in the same year. In addition to his solo endeavours, Luka actively participates in various group exhibitions, including Erste Fragments 16 in 2020 and 2022 and the 57th Zagreb Salon. He lives and works in Zagreb.

JOSIP RONČEVIĆ was born in Zadar in 1991. In 2015, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Graphic Arts in Zagreb, and in 2020, he graduated with honours (summa cum laude) from the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts.

He has had nine solo exhibitions, including (Izgraditi brod, MH Gallery; Doskočiti daljini, Zlati Ajn-gel Gallery; Učinci proljetnog pospremanja, SC Gallery; Dani radija / Radio Days, Karas Gallery) and about thirty group exhibitions, including Igra sporta i umjetnosti / A Game of Sports and Art (Croatian Association of Fine Artists, Zagreb), Erste Fragments 16 (Lauba, Zagreb), and the 35th Youth Salon (Croatian Association of Fine Artists, Zagreb), where he was awarded the “Iva Vraneković - Vladimir Dodig Trokut Award, Artists to Artists.”

He was a finalist for the Radoslav Putar Award in the year 2023.

JURICA PUŠENJAK was born in Zagreb in 1996. In 2020, he completed his studies at the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in the class of Zoltan Novak. Since 2018, he has participated in several group and juried exhibitions, including the 5th and 6th Biennial of Painting at the Croatian Association of Fine Artists, Erste Fragments 16 and 19 at Lauba, an exhibition featuring the recipients of the Vladimir Dodig Trokut Award, and “Iva Vraneković - Ljubav na posljednji pogled/novac je vječan, a ljudski život je prolazan” (Eng. Love at Last Sight/Money is Eternal, and Human Life is Ephemeral) at the Bačva Gallery. He also co-authored the exhibition Tartaglia Shelves at the Forum Gallery. In 2022, Jurica Pušenjak had his first solo exhibition “Heroes” at the Bačva Gallery.

POPIS IZLOŽENIH RADOVA

Luka Kušević

Josip Rončević

Jurica Pušenjak

Ovremenjeni prostor /

Crtež s fusnotama /

Dolar /

Temporalised space

A Drawing with Footnotes

Dollar

200 × 300 cm

195 × 260 cm

120 × 180 cm

ulje na platnu /

ulje, platno /

akril na platnu /

oil on canvas

oil on canvas

acrylic on canvas

2023.

2024.

2023.

Bez naziva /

Obelus – Obeliks /

Rubalj /

Untitled

Obelus – Obelix

Ruble

208 × 186 cm

195 × 260 cm

115 × 170 cm

ulje na platnu /

ulje, vosak, platno /

akril na platnu /

oil on canvas

oil and wax on canvas

acrylic on canvas

2024.

2024.

2023.

Bez naziva 2 /

Repeticija i ponavljanje /

Dinar /

Untitled 2

Repetition and Iteration

Dinar

208 × 186 cm

195 × 260 cm

115 × 170 cm

ulje na platnu /

ulje, platno /

akril na platnu /

oil on canvas

oil on canvas

acrylic on canvas

2024.

2024.

2024.

IMPRESUM / IMPRESSUM Nakladnik / Publisher: Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika / Croatian Association of Fine Artists Trg žrtava fašizma 16, 10 000 Zagreb hdlu@hdlu.hr | www.hdlu.hr Za nakladnika / For the publisher: Tomislav Buntak, predsjednik / president Ravnateljica / Director: Ivana Andabaka Upravni odbor HDLU / Croatian Association of Artists Board: Tomislav Buntak (predsjednik / President), Josip Zanki (potpredsjednik / Vice president), Ida Blažičko (potpre­dsjednica / Vice president), Fedor Fischer, Tomislav Hršak, Vida Meić, Romana Nikolić Voditeljica galerije / Gallery coordinator: Mihaela Zajec Umjetnički savjet Galerije Bačva / Bačva Gallery Advisory Board: Mia Akrap, Branka Benčić, Tomislav Buntak, Ivan Fijolić, Vida Meić, Leila Topić, Josip Zanki Urednica kataloga / Catalogue Editor: Mihaela Zajec Grafičko oblikovanje kataloga / Catalogue Design: Josip Rončević Fotografija / Photography: Juraj Vuglač, Ivan Posavec, Šimun Bučan, Filip Beusan Predgovor / Preface: Feđa Gavrilović Prijevod / Translation: Zana Šaškin Lektura / Proofreading: Mateja Fabijanić, Zana Šaškin Tisak / Printed by: Kerschoffset d.o.o.

Naklada / Edition: 100 Organizator / Organizer: Uz potporu / Supported by: