PAINTING
ROBERT RICOV
 
DETAILS
Oil on canvas
28 x 35 cm
2016
 
DESCRIPTION
Ricov explains that this work is the first in a series of four. It depicts a hand crushing an egg before it has any chance to develop, raising questions about whether the act is one of cruelty or kindness, preventing a life from being born into a difficult world. He reflects on love, fear, and responsibility, wondering whether the act mirrors his own hesitation to fully live as he should. Eventually, he grew tired of these internal debates and chose instead to simply paint them.
 
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 he was mentored by Guillermo Lorca and Martin Wittfooth. It wasn’t until a few months after that he realized how profoundly this experience affected the direction of his work. After Robert became finalist in the Toolip Art Contest in Budapest in 2024, he is represented exclusively by the Toolip Art Gallery.