PAINTING
ROBERT RICOV
 
DETAILS
Oil on canvas
60 x 76 cm
2018
 
DESCRIPTION
Ricov explains that the half-naked figure stands bathed in golden light against a dark, clouded sky, his truth visible to those willing to look. He wears the mask of a liar, marked by Pinocchio’s wooden nose, which casts the shadow of a key across his heart, suggesting a hidden truth. Because the nose belongs to the mask and not the man, Ricov questions whether the figure hides truth by pretending to lie, or confesses truth by admitting deception.
 
The keys on the golden plate are backups in case the truth cannot be unlocked. Doves circle the figure as symbols of peace, freedom, and love, yet one lies dead beside the fruit of original sin. In his hand he holds their eggs, one broken, one intact, representing fragile innocence and unresolved choice.
 
BIOGRAPHY 
Robert Ricov b. 1973 Sydney, Australia BA 1994, College of Visual Arts, Sydney Robert Ricov has been living, working, and exhibiting in Croatia since he moved there in 2022.
 
His oil paintings, in a style he refers to as “surreal maximalist realism,” use symbolism to represent themes such as the loss of innocence, betrayal, and hope. In October of 2023, Robert traveled to the island of Menorca, Spain, where Guillermo Lorca and Martin Wittfooth mentored him. It wasn’t until a few months after that he realized how profoundly this experience affected the direction of his work.