Danilo Stojanović

Danilo Stojanovic´'s competition entry, entitled The Uninvited, stems from pictorial research that does not represent reality: it goes beyond it, leaving an enigmatic and disturbing universe to settle on the surface of the canvas. The composition is frontal, deliberately closed and devoid of perspective. Geometric shapes and plant ornaments emerge sharply from the dark background, among which we can guess the presence of anthropomorphic figures (perhaps a two-headed bust) and the hint of a skull. The reds and greens typical of his chromatic language dominate, giving substance to a suspended atmosphere inhabited by entities that are more emotional than physical, without any trace of gender, shadow or weight. The choice of format, a “semi-square” that narrowly escapes exact proportions, accentuates the sense of disorientation. From an iconographic point of view, while on the one hand we can sense echoes of “vanitas” and “memento mori”, on the other hand the effect of surreal alienation prevails, drawing on a plurality of historical, artistic and literary references, from Nordic symbolism to metaphysical painting, via the novels of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. Overall, the painting appears as a device of evocation: The Uninvited, if we listen to the title, summons an intruder, who at this point must be looked straight in the eye.

Sara Boggio