Marin Majic’s powerfully atmospheric paintings distil moments of narrative friction within his dreamlike, imagined world. Through the dark leaves of Majic’s verdant environments, figures emerge in a series of entanglements that explore themes such as intimacy, isolation, and power. These figures often appear caught in each other’s grasp or held within the vast palm of the natural world, imbuing each painting with an implied story. Yet, the plot never fully crystallises, remaining in a state of suggestion. Majic’s subjects are inaccessible: they are frequently shown with eyes closed or heads turned away from the viewer. They are further obscured through stark shadows and textured surfaces, causing them to blend seamlessly into their surroundings.

Majic’s colour palette—created using marble dust, oil, wax, and turpentine—is dominated by subtle gradations of green and grey. He uses coloured pencils to introduce further colour and texture to his canvases, which possess a heavily worked, grooved surface. To highlight focal points, Majic employs the warm, bright tones of firelight and the cool blues of water. Elements of the landscape—trees, water, grass—are rendered with a fluidity that echoes the visual imprecision of distant memory or dreams. Throughout, the strong presence of the artist’s hand is evident, producing an uncanny Romanticism that underscores both the impermanence of human life and the distortions inherent in representation.

Marin Majic (b. 1979, Frankfurt, Germany) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He studied at the Academy of Visual Arts, Zagreb, Croatia. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions at Galerie Isa, Mumbai; Marc Straus Gallery, New York; and ARNDT Fine Art, Berlin. Majic’s paintings have also been included in group exhibitions at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City; the Knoxville Museum of Art; and the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, New York.