Evgen Čopi Gorišek (b. 1994, Koper, Slovenia) is a Berlin-based artist. Recent solo and group exhibitions include  *It’s a Sweet Story* Padre Gallery, New York, USA, *Only loners left alive* Plan X Art Gallery, Milan, IT, *Quixotic* Ramp Gallery, London, UK *Untitled Art Fair*, PlanX Gallery, Miami Beach, USA, *My own Universe* PADRE Gallery, New York, USA, *System Failure* Plastic Murs, Valencia, Spain, *Don’t Give a Damns* Marian Cramer Projects, Amsterdam, Netherlands, *Cut,Copy,Paste* PlanX Art Gallery, Milan, IT. Gorišek’s work will be exhibited in upcoming exhibitions at König Galerie, Berlin DE, Plan X Art Gallery, Capri, Italy 

Text by Noelia Gaite Gallardo

Let me take you to a place I know you want to go It's a good life:
That’s right – just imagine: the sun, a lot of fun and the ocean. Or: slightly sunburned and tipsy by the pool, that does work too. Young, beautiful, and fashionable. Maybe wealthy. But most importantly: free. How about we go play tennis next week? Self-care equals routine. Dine-out. Party. Followed by more self-care. Maybe also yoga this time. Is that Gucci? I wish I was as strong as him. Lmao no but honestly. Look at his muscles! Respect. Oh yeah, you can tell she slay, have you seen her profile? Amaaaze, look at how sleek it looks! How it shines. Surface, surface, plasticity. Can you take a picture of me in front of this painting? I need a photo with EVGEN because my Instagram is weak as fuck! Lol what?

Let’s be honest: if there is one thing our Social Media feeds have probably taught us, it’s that we rather dislike trashing our minds with sharp truths and uncozy realism (let’s take Facebook out of this because dude: what happened to it honestly?). Even less so when confronting these two b*tches irl has become more and more inevitable lately. Thank goodness at least our bubble is what we make it! Which is why having a closer look into the paintings by EVGEN ČOPI GORIŠEK is all the more recommendable – presented and (you shall be so lucky) *actually* exhibited at DUVE Berlin from March 5 to April 9. And of course (how could it not) brought to you live from the gallery through your favorite smartass devices! 2021 style.

Love is shining

Life is thriving in the good life

If life looks good on the outside, life will be good on the inside too. The worse it gets from the inside, the better it has to appear outwardly. This is just basic human logic. And jep, also a brief description of how Instagram works. Well, walking through EVGEN‘s studio is the joyful equivalent of scrolling through the modern-day feed of a young millennial with expensive taste and a certain sense for leisure. Like the vail of a siren, a whirl of stunning images drags you in and before you know it, you spend an entire evening looking at them. Afterwards, you feel this particular mix of motivational inspiration and a little bit of jealousy. And you double-tap (not on the paintings please) and you give it a like because what you see is the good life and you too, you want to live your best life.

No more bad times

Only glad times in the good life

In a world where no one moves in the art scene without being on Insta anymore and some older spirits among us are afraid of TikTok taking over (oh no, not another new platform please) it does not come as a surprise that Contemporary Art came to adapt its aesthetics. Post-digital, post-internet, post contemporary? One of the hottest things in painting right now is the substitution of hair with air: the brush digitized to air-brush. Needless to say that EVGEN’s got that going for him too. Which is nice because it serves his interest in surfaces and plasticity. In his works, strongly elaborated figures are often in relief against a radically plain and simple background. It almost seems like the foreground was cut out of an image with the lasso tool and photoshopped into the painting. This contrast causes the eye to focus – unfocus like the objective of a camera trying to sharpen an image. The artist’s work has been described as »faux-naif«, its content being referred to as »contemporary absurdities«.