The secret 2014

Editor: So, this is Dragan Ilić Di Vogo's "The Secret," painted in 2014 using oil paints. It’s... well, it's quite dreamlike, isn't it? I am a little thrown off by how photorealistic the horses seem at the bottom, while the rest is more fantastical. What are your initial thoughts when you look at this piece? Curator: Dreamlike is spot on, but maybe more like the lucid, unsettling dreams where logic takes a vacation and anything is possible. For me, it feels like peering into the artist's subconscious, where potent symbols clash and coalesce. Take that charging white horse – pure, untamed energy bursting from a cloudy vortex. It seems both powerful and vulnerable, doesn’t it? Editor: Yes, definitely. And there's the dove below the white horse... and then, grounded at the base, two earthly horses look up. What do you think the artist is saying with this layering? Curator: The composition really invites layers of interpretation. The white horse could represent enlightenment or spiritual pursuit, almost breaking through from a more grounded reality, perhaps symbolised by those watchful horses below, and then punctuated by that lone white dove which could be read as hope or some type of messenger. Editor: Do you think it works? Curator: Well, “works” is subjective, isn't it? But there's an undeniable power in the piece; it has me trying to untangle all its elements! It asks more questions than it answers, which, to me, is what good art should do. What did you get from looking closely? Editor: It is hard to look away. The artist's choice to paint certain sections more realistically draws me into that dreamlike atmosphere. Thanks for your insight. Curator: My pleasure, maybe “The Secret” is really about not solving, just experiencing!