Hunted Projects is pleased to present Comedians, a solo exhibition of new works on paper by Slovenian artist Matija Bobičić (b.1987). Comedians is Bobičić’s debut UK solo exhibition and his first collaboration with Hunted Projects.

Matija Bobičić’s painting style is rooted in his childhood. Following an early period of his career, making use of a mostly abstract visual language with echoes of late modernism and neo-expressionist figuration, in recent years we can observe a significant transformation in the artist’s approach. With a return to imagery from his youth, he reflects on his early creative endeavours as a child. It was then where he first began expressing himself visually by drawing cartoon characters discovered on television. This, along with his personal experience of working with children, inspired him once again to appreciate the freedom and unrestraint of a child’s perspective. Today, Bobičić's paintings are imbued with childlike curiosity, the figures are flat, outlined with a prominent contour, the surface is composed of bright and often contrasting fields of colour. The Comedian characters portray the impression of being physically larger than life. This effect is achieved by expanding the figures right towards the edge of the work, so they appear to be physically pushing against it.

The clown mask, as a space where social illusions, utopian longings as well as personal hidden desires can be projected, is surrounded by elements that move between vibrant, flamboyant colours and dark, black surfaces that overlap with each other. As the artist does not dilute the shades he uses, his works get a specific texture, and this sub-image presents the painted elements with visibility and supports the entire composition. By doing so, the artist skilfully avoids the straightforwardness of speech and a condemning view, and despite his seemingly unburdened attitude to modernity, holds up a mirror and poses the question: Funny how? (Teja Kosi, 2020)