Aleksandar Bezinovic
FORGOTTEN PASSWORDS
Gallery Flora
With his second solo exhibition in Dubrovnik Aleksandar Bezinović presents to the public a series of works that seem to differ completely from his previous one; for example, his latest artworks are devoid of any figuration and are almost utterly lacking color. Yet, what is inherent in both the former as well as the latest cycle, which the artist enigmatically calls “forgotten passwords”, is exploration of the painting medium and the constant interplay between creation and disintegration, emergence and disappearance. In these monochromatic works Bezinović tackles the opposites again – straight lines and lazure strokes are in incessant dialogue with curves, frayed brushstrokes and references to the matter and physicality of the surface and applied paint. The painter’s system is closed only as much as it takes for the incompleteness and imperfections to become manifest while the general impression is that of layering which induces energy into the reduced and famished forms. The well-known figural and symbolic motifs from the earlier paintings have disappeared and Bezinović is taking us into the realm of geometry: he starts with a perfect form, the circle, then multiplies and halves it and ultimately correlates it with barely visible linear network and the canvas format. The placing of circles into the set format and their connections to form new as well as recurring forms reminds one of a process of decoding some unfamiliar and magical system, of opening and closing of new spaces within the painting. At a glance, they appear to be very similar but after a longer observation, differences become more significant than similarities. (A.B) The element of corrosiveness and erosion, introduced in an almost alchemical manner into earlier works (the artist himself initiated the process of corrosion on steel plates) is to a certain extent present on all exhibits – matter restrained by a linear grid is being disintegrated and tends to disappear, lines thicken in a game which discloses the complex construction codes, paint peels off and even the surface is not white but yellowish, in pale brown hues with greenish sparkle. The artist deconstructs and constructs the variations anew thus creating a system similar to an old-fashioned clogged mechanism covered in rust rather than some virtuoso geometric system found in classic geometrical abstraction. Nevertheless, associations to Knifer’s meanders and abstract sculptures of Vojin Bakić can be discerned in the visual comparative field where Bezinović also places archaic and geometric painting of the Greek vases and calligraphy. In the interrelation of line and texture, in disclosure or re-constructing of geometrical codes, the artist, through the working process (his own words), suggests to the observer that the concealed is more important than that which is visible and obvious. If we draw a parallel with the earlier works it is obvious that the disappearance from the canvas of figural motifs sharply focuses the gaze of the viewer to interrelations of proportions, white and darkened parts of canvas, the full and the empty, namely, to pure laws of visual arts. Aleksandar Bezinović never ceases to vigorously explore them in his artistic practice, creating entangled “knots”, those suggestive structures that open realms of imagination and contemplation.
—Rozana Vojvoda