05 Feb 2012

Gallery Kressling: Matej Fabian - Fear of the Dark?

'I am the man who walks alone / And when I'm walking a dark road / At night or strolling through the park / When the light begins to change / I sometimes feel a little strange / A little anxious when it's dark…' (Iron Maiden, Fear of the Dark)

Since 2009 are the paintings of Matej Fabian characterized with a distinct expression, which is distinguishable due to the dark imaginery and the mystic of the choosen and represented motives. These are the main reasons why the paintings of Matej Fabian are different from the works of his peers. His work is defined with certain kind of disturbance and constant way of seeking, particulary present through the choice of distinctive themes and its unusual visualisation. His straightforward approach is characterized by some sort of detachment and decent detachment from a world of „high art', which is legible somewhere between the lines. This detachment is not notable only in mode of painting approach – author is enjoying the „physical' aspect of painting, proces of creating the picture, work with material itself , and its reactions on a surface (instead of accents of conceptual kind), but also in his ability to choose a materials, which are not such „artistic origin.'

This also verifies the pervasive nature of his work and passion for the formal aspects of painting. Author uses symbols which are close to the metal/ hardrock visuality (skull), which are coded with characteristic, above mentioned dark imaginery. Dark tones became alive with fragmental aplication of coloured elements, which appears on pictures as subordinate. The dominant black colour becomes vivid and acquires a plasticity. If we exlude dominant dark colours, his paintings recall the elements of neoexpression paintings of the 20th century (sensually concevied work with material, energetic and emotional expression). On the other hand, author grants to his paintings a level of meaning. Some paintings refer to already realised cycles such as Krampusteufel (presented in Hangar of teh Tranzit Studios, New Face in Hell, 2010) or graduation project Predator (2011). The present collection comprises of momumental works from the graduation project which are supplemented with smaller paintings from last summer.

When I mention the transfer character of his works, I mean the the very moment of the overhang, which is constatly present, something which goes beyond the normally depicted, examining the wider conotations - the moment of a deeper artistic concern. When depictiing the heads of demons, he is not primarly painting their portraits , but it is moreless a confrontation between the myth and particular characteer of countries, where the the motives are coming from (South Tyrol, Austria). It is also typical of his other works. In his graduation project, which is also focused on the theme of evil, he moved on from the pagan mythology to the science fiction, where he found inspiration in the eighties cult – movie, Predator. The movie as subject was not restrictive. Author was ading some components from the movie, and others to it, and his paintings are captured with tension, dense atmosphere. They are occupied with mysterious characters, which use mimicry, and their presence is signalized only with termovision. If we look on the paintings of Matej Fabian more closely, we will see an adventourous expedition to the world, which is everything else except grey, and reflects everything else but routine, and with the form of indications reflects more conjectured spiritual worlds behind the horizonts of our standard visions...

Lucia Gavulová