Soft Targets

About

The winner of last year's prestigious Slovak Painting of the Year competition primarily explores themes of female identity, addressing sensitive topics such as sexual harassment, eating disorders, and body shaming without shying away from them. However, this is not blunt ideological propaganda. Kováčiková works with subversive symbolism, pin-up colours, and an ironic detachment. This results in her paintings often creating disturbing, confrontational situations with no clear winner.

It is no coincidence that the exhibition Soft Targets, created especially for Bold Gallery, reimagines the traditional military meaning of 'soft targets' as a subtle yet provocative exploration of personal vulnerability. It is an open invitation to reflect on what it means to be a 'soft target' in today's world, and considers where strength and power can be found in this underestimated position. Despite her realistic style, Dominika Kováčiková does not take a literal approach to visual thinking, nor does she reveal too much through context. Conversely, her surroundings can deliberately manipulate the viewer, and it is the ambiguity and resulting uncertainty that are among the most important qualities of her work. One can never be completely sure what is happening in her paintings, which are full of meaningful details. Tenderness can easily represent violence, just as an attack can represent defence.

    The colour pink, however, remains a constant. As she noted in a recent Instagram post, she has used it to capture almost every emotion: love, gratitude, joy, anger, lust, sadness and jealousy. Ultimately, none of it is so scary when it's pretty pink.