Radovan Kunić
Dormant Polymorph
22/10 — 05/12/2026
With the exhibition Dormant Polymorph, Radovan Kunić has taken a subtle yet necessary step, marking a new phase in his exploration of painting as a medium within an already established artistic approach. The selection of works presented at Ravnikar Gallery represents the latest developments in Kunić’s artistic practice, to which he remains consistently committed. Rather than using the traditional painting support of linen canvas, the artist’s curiosity has led him to experiment with a contemporary projection screen. The change in the support’s texture and colour—the silver hue deriving from the material of which the projection screen is made—has opened up new possibilities for composition and a new visual discourse.
Interestingly, Kunić uses a “retired” projection screen that once displayed a considerable amount of visual information in the form of film screenings, yet was never the primary focus of the audience’s attention, nor was it seen in its original form. Today, that same screen becomes the support for a permanent image, allowing its physical and visual qualities to finally come to the fore.
Kunić’s painting is, a posteriori, characterised by a research-driven approach to a self-imposed theme, which develops through a process of thought into the desired, though not always final, outcome. Drawing on a working method rooted in the philosophical questioning of the work that precedes him, Kunić guides us into a world that exists and surrounds us, but does not necessarily correspond to what is depicted in his paintings. Referring to the tradition of medieval European painters who, in the absence of visual evidence, attempted to depict elephants, lions and other exotic animals based on oral accounts, Kunić’s paintings in this series similarly reflect something that undoubtedly surrounds us while simultaneously stimulating our imagination.
In Particle Hydra, we initially perceive the outlines of circles from a distance. As we gradually approach the work, we begin to recognise the familiar features of golf balls, which this time are not formed exclusively through paint. Using translucent layers of black paint, Kunić leaves just enough of the silver support exposed to form the desired shapes. The composition is fragmented into several segments, eliminating a central focal point while simultaneously creating an impression of internal order in which each segment is brought into focus. Although the golf balls may appear to be arbitrarily arranged in a nightmare of layered complexity, they in fact form their own ecosystem at a subatomic level, where everything is “in its place”. At this level, matter loses its recognisable characteristics, yet the calculations of quantum mechanics and the artist’s brushstrokes make it conceivable once again.
In juxtaposition with this work, Where No One Has Gone Before serves as its visual and narrative counterpart—a kind of yin and yang within the exhibition. While the former presents constant motion and the natural laws at work on a subatomic level, the latter offers a more tranquil scene, one closer to human experience. A group of illuminated lanterns, arranged side by side, presents a different perspective on order, regularity and repetition. On the one hand, we encounter nature and its continuous transformations; on the other, humanity and its need to organise the surrounding world through patterns, sequences and measurements adapted to the limits of human understanding. A particular harmony thus emerges within chaos, on the boundary between order and disorder. The work also introduces the chemical process of combustion as a form of transformation of matter and energy. The flame simultaneously becomes a reminder of transience and human mortality, at least in its physical sense. Kunić also introduces the question of the limits of human understanding of the universe, both visible and invisible, and of our attempts to grasp its complexity through our own systems of measurement, sequence and comprehension.
The exhibition does not focus solely on large-format works but also includes a series of smaller works. Implementacija zakona is modular in nature and can be arranged into smaller or larger groupings. Kunić covers the silver support with black paint, upon which he places flowers of various plants alongside texts containing enigmatic messages. In places, the silver support breaks through the black surface in flashes, further emphasising the colourful flowers and legal phrases floating in the space of the universe. These phrases allude to human laws, but also to writing as a limited form of communication and interpretation of the world. Such systems are adapted to human experience and the limits of our knowledge, yet they do not necessarily correspond to the complexity of the world they seek to describe.
The exhibition also features several works incorporating Kunić’s recognisable motifs, executed in a somewhat different manner. In Mjesto i datum, a text or message appears among snow-covered branches, gradually dissolving into space. A mirage? Impossible. The outlines are present, the text is present on the surface of the canvas, yet it remains elusive, merging with the whole, with the background, with the context—individuality must be sought out.
Several common elements can be identified across these works. First and foremost, they are connected by the repetition of motifs and the creation of compositional patterns. There is also the characteristic signature of horror vacui. Through multiplication, recognisable elements of everyday life are transformed into the building blocks of a more complex system, in which their original meanings give way to new relationships and regularities.
Layer by layer, step by step, a structure emerges that is interconnected on multiple levels: from the physical (canvas, paint, brushstroke), through the narrative (personal story) and the level of metalanguage, to the relationship between the work and the artist, the relationships among the works themselves, and ultimately, the relationship between the painting and its audience.
Radovan Kunić was born in Rijeka in 1987. He earned a degree in sculpture from the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka in 2012. In addition to painting, a constant in his work, he uses mediums such as animation, video, and installation, exploring their relationship in a gallery or outdoor public space. He has taken part in international art symposiums and art residencies (Belgium, USA, Germany) and has had his work displayed in many group and solo exhibitions. He has received several awards and prizes, and his work can be found in public and private collections in Croatia and abroad. He has created the public artwork titled Mechanism; a mosaic displayed on the Molo Longo promenade in Rijeka. He also works as assistant professor at the Academy of Applied Arts, University of Rijeka. Kunić is a member of the Croatian Association of Artists. He lives in Matulji.
Text by: Zlatko Tot
Photography: Zupanov
Supported by: Ministry of Culture & Municipality of Ljubljana
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