Anna Mária Beňová explores the themes of femininity in the period of neofeminism in a society dominated by men. Her paintings depict a woman in control, where Beňová depicts the complexity of female sexuality revealing its beauty and ugliness, strength and fragility. It captures the dynamic interplay of asserting dominance and surrendering it.

Beňová approaches this exploration with wit and humor, almost as mockingly showing male screenwriters how to create a girl character.

In her paintings, Anna Mária Beňová situates the female protagonists in the position of hunted game and ironically reflects on partner relationships, objectification through hunting as a metaphor for romantic recharge between women and men. Protagonists represent a kind of trophy. Trophies, just as symptoms show two things at once, exhibit what they hide, belong to both winners and losers. The trophy allows the loser to survive and even shine even in defeat.

The painting exhibition HUNT personifies through the act of hunting the tension of hunters' desire to possess anthropomorphic female figures. However, the female figures are unique in themselves, they do not belong to anyone, and yet without their presence the hunters would not be able to show their triumphant victory.

The project was financially supported by Bratislava City Foundation and the Slovak Arts Council in the form of a stipend.


Review of the exhibition :

https://www.ultrafialova.sk/sk/clanok/hunt