This week Borna Ivanuša opened his newest solo exhibition in Šira Gallery, Zagreb. Known for his colourful art pieces, Borna showcases his reality through various elements, including cartoons as Peppa Pig and Tom & Jerry in his previous works, traffic symbols, and everyday life objects.
Even though his style is playful and vibrant, Borna’s starting point for creating his art pieces are his emotions and current state-of-mind—state of mind. His newest exhibition ‘Flowerboy‘ is a deep dive into his introspective, showing how one can flourish after a ‘dark’ and difficult personal period of life.
According to the art curator of the exhibition, Marta Radman, Borna Ivanuša approaches art from a position of radical vulnerability, where life’s insecurities, love shipwrecks and personal transformations materialize in hybrid forms of sculptures, paintings and performances. In this case, the gallery space became a place for introspective confrontation with personal and social challenges. These works are not mere documents of his emotional turmoil; they are a visual reflection of the questioning of identity, both through the complexities of the creative process and through personal struggles.
“Ivanuša’s work reminds me most of the structural layering of Oceana Vuong’s poetry, where fragments of personal history create a space in which love, sadness and self-awareness are inseparable parts of the entire artistic expression“, Marta explained.
‘Flowerboy’ is more than an introspective concept; it is a rare insight into the intimate world of an artist who acknowledges his vulnerability and transforms it into a lasting artistic experience. Butterflies fluttering through the space, despite their fragility, reflect the artist’s fearlessness in facing personal demons. The exhibition setup fully supports Ivanuša’s aesthetic and emotional process, paying tribute to his perseverance despite the daily challenges – whether they are financial or internal struggles, which he reveals to us more than clearly. At its core, ‘Flowerboy’ is a process of personal reconstruction, where each work represents a symbolic layer of growth and introspection. Through this exhibition, Ivanuša does not document a single moment of her artistic practice; he ritually transforms himself, while fragile butterflies, bearing messages of love, loss and transformation, defy transience and rise above the limitations of personal experience.
“Many people who showed up at the opening asked me how can I bare myself completely. When I create art, it is the only way I know, to show myself and my state completely. It is what I love, and somehow I heal with it”, pointed out Borna Ivanuša and thanked everyone who came to see the exhibition.
Borna’s ability to materialize complex emotions through subtle symbols and a strong visual language opens up space for interpretations that are both intimate and universal. Each piece becomes an imprint of a moment of confrontation and transformation, inviting the audience to explore their inner processes and reflections. The exhibition is open until next Saturday, November 2.