On Friday, April 16th at 8pm a double opening night will take place for the exhibitions by painters Martina Grlić and Petra Grozaj.

 

Martina Grlić through her cycle ‘Hypermnesia’ explores the phenomenon of the same name which marks the heightened capability of remembering that typically occurs as a result of trauma, hypnosis, or narcosis. The term hypermnesia stands for a condition opposite amnesia, but also represents a specific state in which a person can describe and remember certain details from their own memory with unbelievable accuracy. Using an esthetic language which moves between dreams and reality, the author materializes memories by transferring symbols into the realm of the real. With the method of introspection and by using archival photographs from family albums she explores the territory of memory and questions learned ideologies which take part in forming the consciousness and identity. The uncertainty of memory manifests as a deviation within which hyperbolized details are cut out and moved into the sphere of the transcending, symbolic, and surreal.

 

 

Petra Grozaj’s new cycle of oils on canvas builds upon the last one, ‘Krystal’, which explored the fragility and solidity of the everyday, opposite life phenomena that intertwine. Just like the title of the exhibit ‘Kaleidoscope’ symbolically points out, what takes place here is a view into a new world made up of recognizable elements which supplement each other and create a new ‘unreal reality’ that is permeated by symbolism and experiences. The name for the exhibit came from the name of one of the paintings from the series which depicts the way portraits would look like if observed through a little device like a kaleidoscope. Petra Grozaj displays a fascination and wonder, a surprise with something that is seen and experienced for the first time and points out a connection with the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ story which also symbolically looks into a new world and studies what goes on ‘behind a mirror’.

 

 

Tickets for the exhibition will be free on opening night, and the prices on other days are the following:

ADULTS: 25KN

RETIRED PEOPLE*: 5KN

STUDENTS*: 10KN

CHILDREN (0-6 YEARS): FREE

YOUTH (7-18 YEARS): 10KN

NEIGHBOURHOOD TICKET (FOR ČRNOMEREC): 10KN

MEMBERS: FREE

 

*with valid documentation

 

Take a look at the gallery to see what it was like on opening night.

 

Photographs: Ivan Idžojtić