Exhibition

_{The new series of paintings titled “Marvelous Problems” by Emanuela Lekić is a homage to painting in which the artist examines the problems of painting as a medium, as well as its intellectual concepts. It primarily refers to the notion of painting in a surrealist manner of reflecting on the image—not as a representation of reality, but as a new reality constructed on the fine line of inquiry between the real and the imaginary. A painting is not reality, for it is not an object, but only the representation of that object, as Magritte demonstrates in his famous work La trahison des images¹. For this reason, the artist draws upon the thematic inventory of theatre, which becomes the platform for the scenes in this new series of works.} 

_{Before the actual painting process, the artist begins by creating a model—an architectural space in which she can observe the visual elements of light, shadow, tone, and the relationships among motifs, forming the composition into which she later inserts figures during the painting process. But this theatrical scenography is also merely a representation, an image of life—what Plato and Aristotle call mimesis, the imitation of reality. Drawing inspiration from paper theatres, miniature paper or cardboard theatres used for home entertainment in the 19th century, Lekić constructs specific scenographies in her models that carry the feeling of a shelter, simultaneously depicted as a safe haven and a potential trap.} 

_{This setting bears the theatrical weight of tension in the anticipation of the next moment, evoking the atmosphere of Italian metaphysical painting, such as the surreal, irrational-visionary compositions of Giorgio de Chirico, characterized by depictions of deserted Italian squares or forgotten places. The viewer senses a certain unease, eeriness, and ghostly silence within the velvet fabrics, ribbons, dolls, lighters, and abandoned cigarettes—where only a hint of human presence is suggested through the fragmented depiction of a hand or a face, like a passerby secretly watching you. The same mystery is evoked in arcades, busts and sculptures that become the main protagonists of de Chirico’s seemingly haunted piazzas, where figures—just like the figures in Lekić’s spaces—move without a script, without set dialogues or monologues, blindly awaiting the lights on the stage.} 

_{Lekić creates multiple acts with various artificial and imperfect scenographies, thereby building a narrative within a cohesive and carefully conceived series of works, where emphasis is also placed on the textual layer that guides us toward reading the image on an iconological level. Intermission and Prologue are clear markers of theatrical vocabulary, while Marvelous, Oh No and Mine All Mine lead the viewer into a ghostly silence filled with the possessiveness of textual connotations and the ambient tension of scenes set within a forest. Here the viewer is drawn into a dilemma: has the event already taken place, or is it yet to happen? How many participants were involved, suggested by the three cigarettes? Are we witnessing a sunset or a sunrise? How dangerous is the lit cigarette to the paper theatre in which it is placed?} 

_{This dreamlike atmosphere—peaceful and chromatically appealing, yet at the same time strange—is a clear link to surrealist tendencies that aim to create enigmatic states and images that prompt the viewer to reconsider both the depiction and their own perception. Lekić does not offer simple answers; rather, like a masterful director, she poses questions and finds beauty not in the concreteness of the image, but in the hints that invite its interpretation.} 

_{Emanuela Lekić (1996) is a Croatian visual artist focused on contemporary painting. She graduated in 2019 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, under the mentorship of Professor Igor Rončević, with her thesis exhibition Classroom Faces presented at the Croatian School Museum in Zagreb and the Decumanus Gallery in Krk. Following her master’s degree, Lekić participated in several international residencies, including Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, New Painting Residency in Leipzig, and the Erasmus+ Mobility Program at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. These experiences further developed her artistic language and professional engagement.} 

_{Her artistic practice explores contemporary figuration through an intimate and psychological approach to portraiture and the human form. Lekić’s works have been exhibited widely across Croatia, in major national galleries and cultural institutions. Notable group exhibitions include the 5th and 6th Painting Biennial (Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb), Situations (35th Youth Salon, Forum Gallery, Zagreb), From Y to Z (Oktogon, Zagreb), Erste Fragments 14 (Kranjčar Gallery, Zagreb), and group exhibition Red and Black (Forum Gallery, Zagreb). She has presented several solo exhibitions in prestigious galleries, including Night Shift at Kortil Gallery in Rijeka and Lauba House in Zagreb, both of which received significant media attention. Her works have been featured in leading art magazines such as croatian Kontura and the international publication Booooooom.} 

_{Throughout her academic and professional career, Lekić has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Rector’s Award for artistic-scientific collaboration, the Academy Council Commendation for academic excellence, the Audience Award at Erste Fragments 14, the Lauba Black Tree Award for Best Independent Artist at the Nesvrstani Art Fair, the First Prize at the Self-Portrait Triennial in Samobor, and the Milan Tucović Award at the International Artist Summit in Grožnjan. Her works are included in private and institutional collections in Croatia and abroad.} 

_{The exhibition is curated by Jelena Tamindzija Donnart (1989), graduated in Art History and Croatian Studies from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb in 2014. She is the recipient of a scholarship from the Government of the Republic of France (2012), a CEEPUS scholarship for research work at the University of Vienna (2014), and the Rector's Award at the University of Zagreb (2013-2014). Tamindzija Donnart participated in an ERASMUS student exchange at the University of Verona in Italy (2013), during which she completed a dual degree thesis at the University of Zagreb and the University of Verona.}

_{Additionally Tamindzija Donnart specialized in postgraduate studies at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin (2013). Later she interned at Lauba - House for Art and People in Zagreb, and at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture and worked as a curator in Shanghai, China.} 

_{Furthermore Jelena Tamindzija Donnart participated as an invited curator in the CCA Andratx residential art project in Mallorca, in 2022 and has worked as a curator at numerous solo and group exhibitions and as a curator and manager of international projects at the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik (Ahmet Ertug – Point of Vanishment, 2017, Oceans – works from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, 2018, Worlds within worlds – Sophie Erlund, Igor Eškinja, Stephen Kent, Josep Maynou, Mark Požlep, 2023, Andy Warhol – I am from nowhere, works from the collection of the Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art Medzilaborca, 2023, Tony Cragg – Sculpture, 2025)} 

_{Since 2016, Tamindzija Donnart is a member and co-director of the Nomad – Croatian Office for Contemporary Art. Since 2017, she has been working as a cuator at the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik.}

 

_{Marvelous Problems was Emanuela Lekić's first solo exhibition in Austria, at Kahan Art Space in Vienna. The exhibition will now be on display at Kahan Art Space in Budapest.}

_{opening: 11 March 2026 | 18:00 
on view: 11 March 2026 - 2 May 2026
opening hours: from Tuesday to Saturday | 13:00 - 18:00
address: Kahan Art Space Pest | 1072 Nagy Diófa street 34}