Robert Dandarov

“Paintings, Drawings and Two Etchings”

In this new group of paintings by Dandarov, we have works which are dealing with the grotesque dominated by the presence of satire. But we also have one morbid, heinous somnambular viewpoint with caricatural domination, all pointing toward one road of making fun, critique and warning (all metaphorically) to our contemporary”, modernized” society and to all malfunctions and deformities which today’s  man is going through in his effort to be part of the existence called ”today”. For this purpose he creates ”phantasmagoric panopticums” where the mythological, sacral, historically visual lexicon and dialogue have the primordial mark nad meaning.

Using some of the mythological narratives about ”surreal and divine”, mutations, desecration, ”reemagined” life stories of certain saints, aspects of the history and the theory of art, science, literature (stressing his wide range of interests) or creating his own compilations or narratives, Dandarov is creating new ”reality”. There, the expressive ”post-dada” or ”post-modern simulacrum” is emphasizing the social deviations of the society we live in and its cultural and mental state. Once again, through his works, Dandarov confirms that sex, blood, violence and death are elements which are nourishing the ordinary mortal and his thirst for scandal and ephemeral.

Ana Frangovska, curator, National Galery of Macedonia

* all photos and texts licensed by Robert Dandarov