PAINTING
ROBERT RICOV
(CROATIA/AUSTRALIA)
 
DETAILS
Giclée print on canvas
(1/9) Limited edition
Hand-signed by the artist
45 x 61 cm
2021
 
DESCRIPTION
Seduced by the sweetest of seducers­. A stranger in a strange place. A place in which such things are allowed, wanted and hoped for. The place? An underground absinthe bar named Tickles. A dark abode with dim green lights that cast their ambient absinthe aura upon all who dally there. The seducer? A woman who goes by the name of T-Bird Tiffany. She is a secret. That is to say, she is secretly employed by the establishment to create an experience that guarantees repeat business. And she is not the only one who works there in that position.
The women all know each other, and I know all of them. I sit there with my drink, watching, amused by the sight of many a motley man who cannot believe his luck. And here we have one such man. The girls call him Timothy Teal, on account of all that ghastly green he wears. But he wears it well, ironed and pressed, perfumed and pretty.
No one knows his real name. No one cares. This is a place for subterfuge, for lies and whispers, for sweet nothings nibbling at delicate ears, and the twitching of naughty noses. Tiffany has what Timothy needs, or has someone else already given it? She has competition there in that dark place, moving in and out of the smoky corners. You see, if it is not sex that he wants then what exactly is it that motivates him? What is it that makes him return to that couch night after night? If not sex then perhaps love. But no, not love either...
 
BIO
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.