18 March 2005 – 21 June 2005
The retrospective of Ivan Pavle at the Danubiana was monumental in its artistic essence and scope. He is a painter in the most intrinsic meaning of this word, treating paint at every possible moment, yet everything in his painting has its place. Pavle is a painter of figurative motifs, vegetation, landscapes and historicising themes, their artistic concept oscillating between reality and imaginary visions. In almost twenty-five years, changes occurred in his work. However, they are not shocking, caused by external influences, but internal, corresponding to his artistic vision. It is seen in the essential range of his painting, the relationship between figure and landscape. The figure always had its mass and a more compact shape. In the present compositions the monumental mass of the figure loses its compactness and its contour is outlined in charcoal. The concept of landscape reached beyond the imaginary figurativeness of sinful Babylon to embrace the vibrant motifs of Caribbean vegetation. Pavle’s painting technique indicates consistency in execution. He explores his own methods of creating spatial impressions, exploiting multi-layered scumbling. Layered paint and material structures, which created the plastic surface of painting, were later replaced by smooth scumbling. It allows him to develop rich narratives in imaginative monumental compositions.
Curators: Ivan Pavle, Daniel Hevier
