ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

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For her first solo exhibition at La Causa Galería, Dominika Kováčiková proposes a journey through environments inhabited by solitary women immersed in complex narratives. As in a psychological thriller, the stories told through these women verge on catastrophe. Mobilizing a recurring symbology, Dominika stages a theatricality that allows the viewer to anticipate the impending tragedy. 

 

Dominika's work is imbued with a grotesque emotionality that subtly mocks the myth of the "damsel in distress". A constant threat hangs over these women, and yet the ironic use of the exaggerate sweetness either by the brightness of the colors used or the over-the-top of the facial expressions oscillates provocatively between artistic expression and kitsch. This duality is constant in Dominika's compositions. The chromatic treatment of pastel tones contrasts with the violent atmosphere of the landscapes or the moods of the protagonists of her works. By confronting concepts such as fragility and strength, affable gentleness and non-conformist insolence, helplessness and daring, the artist stages a kind of impostured femininity, far removed from the vulnerability associated with femininity. Knives and scissors can be dangerous and threatening weapons, but also tools of self-defence. By focusing on details that distort from the narrative interpretation, the artist manages to drastically transform the overall atmosphere of the work and retain the viewer in a state of constant suspense and uncertainty. 

 

What role do white, soft red-eyed rabbits play, escorting the girl who walks in her underwear through a lonely field threatened by an impending dark storm? Who holds the knife? Where is the enemy? Grenades, a symbol of innocence and youth, rot under the weight of experience, proudly bearing the scars of time. 

 

Dominika Kováčiková thus recreates a palpable tension in each of the works that reflects the complexity of the human experience: passion, insecurity, isolation, overacting, fear, grief, love, panic… Borrowing the words from the American singer Lana del Rey, I imagine Dominika singing the song and improvising with an impassive calm: "They mistook my kindness for weakness, and today I could be your savior".

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Text by Manuela Medina