Erik Mavrič: The Long Black Summer

With his exhibition The Long Black Summer the artist Erik Mavrič narrates a story about short-sightedness and self-evident behaviour of modern society, and some of the most fundamental existential afflictions of an individual who is trapped in the formulas of social norms. Especially for this exhibition he created completely new pieces which were already in their draft adapted to the Lapidarium exhibition space in Galerija Božidar Jakac. The works represent (self-)ironically conceived modern grotesque and humour, where people always appear in the main role.

Mavrič is one of the most enigmatic local artists who, in his highly diverse artistic practice, refers to number of different techniques, genres and tendencies from the history placing them in the field of contemporary art; his distinctly modern and topical motifs are influenced by different periods of art history, be it expressionism, surrealism, cubism, social realism or comic book production. The works are created on wooden carriers, on which Mavrič drew with charcoal and created complex, extensive and detailed compositions that bring an extremely dark, yet humorous narrative of the world here and now, as well as in the near and distant future. The drawings are apocalyptic in every aspect and are drawn in the light of a resigned view of the future, in which everyday phenomena are transformed into the grotesque. In this respect, The Long Black Summer series is a modern reinterpretation of the motif of the ship of fools, on which the passengers on the fragile raft indulge in carnal pleasures while sailing unstoppably towards the abyss and imminent death. The artists compares that with the current state of mind of the modern world. All these considerations are still (or once again) present in the world today, as the idea of a responsible and just global society has not been realized yet. Therefore, in the current series, Mavrič does not look back to the past, but only analyses the present.

Erik Mavrič (1979) is a visual artist who primarily works in the medium of drawing. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana where he graduated in 2004 and completed MA programme in 2008. During his studies in 2002 he received student Prešeren Award, and in 2012 he was awarded special acknowledgement of the jury at the 16th Slovenian Sculptural Exhibition. He showcased his works on several solo exhibitions, among others at Galerija Krško (2014), Galerija Alkatraz in Ljubljana (2018) and DoubleRoom arti visive Gallery in Trieste (2018), as well as on several group exhibitions. Mavrič lives and works in the vicinity of the town of Krško, Slovenia.

Kustos: Miha Colner

Foto: Jaka Babnik