! To start with; the most beautiful news of the entire year! I am thrilled to announce that the prestigious Florence Contemporary Gallery from the vibrant heart of Florence has recognized me as one of the 55 most influential young artists to watch in 2024. This recognition is not just a milestone in my career; it stands as a strong affirmation of my journey, one fueled by unwavering passion and dedication, immense effort, hard work, and sacrifice. Link to Florence Contemporary Gallery’s website:

“Dear Rikardo, We are excited to announce that you have been selected to participate in our upcoming publication “55 Artists to Watch: 2024 Edition”. Our dedicated curatorial team has spent the past 11 months carefully selecting artists from around the world who we believe have a unique vision and talent, and we are confident that you will be an influential and investable artist in the contemporary art market. This lengthy process of selecting and monitoring artists has led to the final shortlist, in which we are delighted to include you.”

A few words about my artistic journey in 2023: It was a period marked by fewer projects than usual, yet it stands out as the most developed and mature phase of my artistry. The pinnacle? The birth of ‘XANTE’ – my most significant painting cycle to date. Xante represents a fusion of my interests. It is a futuristic planet through which I explore the future through the lens of the past.

The painting you see, “Synthetic Nirvana: Mysteries of the Cybernetic Ascetic,” is part of the XANTE 2502 narrative. It is, in my opinion, and according to many others who have seen this work, my best to date. I am grateful for all the kind comments, as well as for the opportunity to create these works. I feel proud!

Looking forward to 2024: For the next year, I am preparing for 2 international solo exhibitions on two different continents. Additionally, I am gearing up for what promises to be my biggest project yet, details of which I will begin unveiling in January.

Your unwavering support and belief in my art have always been, alongside the strength of my will, the greatest wind in my sails. Thank you for your continued support.

I wish you a happy and successful 2024 with the hope that together, as humanity, we will find a way out of the collective darkness in which we currently find ourselves.

I need not emphasize, but I will still say – Help those who are in need. That is the best New Year’s gift you can give to someone.

As 2023 comes to a close, I am elated to share what I believe to be my greatest creation to date: “Synthetic Nirvana: Mysteries of the Cybernetic Ascetic”. This journey began in October, and now, as the end of December approaches, I am putting the finishing touches on this piece, with just a few strokes of the brush left.

“Young Knight in a Landscape, or Portrait of a Knight, is an oil on canvas painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Vittore Carpaccio, now in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection in Madrid. Dated 1510, this is the earliest full-length portrait in Western painting—on the assumption that it is a portrait, as it seems likely. It is characteristic of Carpaccio that apart from this important innovation, the style of the work seems in other respects to look back to the previous century. From some time until the 20th century the painting had been given the monogram of Albrecht Dürer, and Carpaccio’s signature had been overpainted. The realism and detail of Carpaccio does in fact show Northern influence.“

My series entitled “Mundus Novus” explores the arrival of AI (artificial intelligence) and its potential impact on society.
The cycle concept is divided into two parts. In the first part, I copy images of historical importance and those that had a great influence on me, but I replace the main protagonists with robots. I do this to create a contrast between the past and the future that will make the viewer think.
One of the central themes of “Mundus Novus” is the potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize many industries and fundamentally change the way we work and live. In some of my painted versions of these historical images, robots are shown doing activities that were once done by humans, such as farming, hunting, or playing music. In doing so, I am pointing to the potential of artificial intelligence to take over many tasks currently performed by humans, potentially leading to significant changes in the workforce and society as a whole. This process, which we call automation, is already present in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In other pictures, robots are shown burning villages, killing people. They are changing the world for the worse. With that, I point to the dystopian threat that this technology carries. One potential dystopian threat posed by artificial intelligence (AI) is the possibility of AI becoming so advanced that it surpasses human intelligence and threatens our very existence. This scenario, known as the “singularity”, is a frequent theme in science fiction and has been the subject of much debate among scientists, philosophers and futurists.
…
Today I announce that the Polish master, Zdzisław Beksiński, has become part of Mundus Novus.

I have been doing art for almost 15 years. My artistic style and interests were changing manically. I was exploring my own limits, entering unknown spaces, although I always knew that I wanted to create works like this. The embodiment of my fantasies. Works that are the product of my imagination, my darkness and subconscious. This was not possible before. I did not have the ability to articulate my ideas. That’s why I’m especially happy about this new phase I’m entering. I have overcome, at least in painting, my biggest flaw, impatience. In this regard, the trajectory of my constant technical progress is clear. Most works of art today are created very quickly. It is impossible to separate artists from the context of the time and space in which they create. This work was almost two months in the making. For those two months, this work received my ultimate attention. I thought about every single detail. I’m not sure how well it can be seen on small screens, but it certainly can be done live. In each of these long processes, I left a piece of my soul.
The complexity of these works and the well-organized chaos is the best description of my mind and the way I see the world. In this way, my creativity represents a counter-aspiration to the speed of time in which we live. A time for which perhaps the best metaphor is “Tik-Tok”. Human attention is reduced to a minimum. My work cannot be consumed like that. And what is even more important: Life cannot be consumed like that. To understand life’s all-encompassing complexity, one must be present and focused. He must learn to pay attention to details, as well as learn to read and notice repeating patterns, and draw conclusions and messages from them. He must understand the importance of the inner (from which everything starts) and the outer world. Life has to be dealt with. You can’t just live. This same process is also needed to understand one of my works.
Through this cycle, “Embodiment of the invisible”, about which I have not written much, I am dealing with my inner world, and all this through symbols, mythology and my grotesque beings. When asked by Igor Vuček, an art historian, about the meaning of the grotesque in his works, I answered myself: INCLUSION. This is a new dimension of this cycle, which I talked about in the text below this one. I would divide inclusion into internal and external. On the one hand, these grotesque characters invite you to meet and embrace your dark side. Every man is mortal and sinful. We are all jealous, vain, selfish or lazy at times. . You should not be ashamed of that. It is in our human nature. A person who does not know and accept his darkness will never become a complete being. On the other hand, through the freedom that the artistic narrative gives me, I want to combine polarities in my works; east and west, old and new, beautiful and ugly, small and large. In my world, everyone has the opportunity to live together. One of the big problems of the time we live in is the lack of respect for differences. Technologies, and especially social networks, have shown all the tribal origins of man. We live in a time of greatest polarities. My desire is to show through my art the importance of understanding and paying attention to the ideas, passions and emotions of other people, no matter how different they are from us. Apart from God, there is no There is no one universal truth. These truths change with experience, character and temperament. If we want our being to receive understanding, respect and validation, then we have to give it too. I think art should be used as a universal medium through which people come together. It should be a free space in which conflicting ideas and attitudes circulate freely. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.
In closing, I can only say that I am very pleased to publish this paper with you tonight. I look forward to hearing your opinion as well. Cheers!

I waited a couple of nights so that the emotions would calm down, and I would have a clearer picture of what happened in the Town Hall.
It’s true that I intuitively felt that something big was about to happen, but I wasn’t hoping for this.
Here, three days later, it’s not easy for me. How to put into words the importance of the most important and most beautiful night in my life? I often think of myself as lonely. I can and I like to be alone the most. It gives me the greatest sense of freedom. My inner world is much more interesting and important to me than the outer world. I often get carried away in that feeling. Nevertheless, Friday showed me that people also play a big role in my life. It is precisely because of this that I have a great need to thank you all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who was in the City Hall and to everyone who has been my continuous support throughout all these years. The feeling of pride that entered my being when I saw how many of you came to see my Hana’s works also illuminated my skeptical, pessimistic, often paranoid being. As the employees say: “The town hall was not fuller than the opening”. That’s huge! My hope for a better tomorrow for this city has returned. I have received substantial confirmation that the path I am on is correct. Furthermore, the amount of beautiful words I have received for the art I create is something that will keep me happy and pushing me for months to come. A lot of people congratulated me for my speech. It gives me the right to think that I am not alone in my value system. We must fight together against malignant social deviations. In conclusion, I can say that Hana and I will continue to ride the wave of this energy. We still have plans for this exhibition, and we will keep you informed about everything in the future.