Hush 2016

Nemanja Vučković’s painting "Hush" is a wild, almost violent, coming together of browns, yellows, and blacks. I can imagine Vučković working and reworking this surface—building it up, scraping it down, adding textures and glazes. I wonder what it was like for Vučković to make this painting. It has a definite emotional tone. The aggressive strokes of black, juxtaposed with softer washes of colour, create a sense of tension, like something is trying to break through or be suppressed. The contrast in surface is interesting: in some areas, the paint is applied thinly, while in others, it’s built up into thick, almost sculptural impasto. There's a conversation between the artist and the materials. Each mark, each layer, is a response to what came before. And in turn, each painting is in conversation with all other paintings, echoing and questioning ways of seeing and feeling. Ultimately, it invites us to reflect on the quiet dramas of life.