Dragan Vojvodić | Artists in Residence | Kamov Residency

Photo: Ljiljana Maletin Vojvodić

• Biography
• The Project
• Organized by

• Dragan Vojvodić

  → https://draganvojvodic.wordpress.com

  Art statement:

  THE ART IS COMMUNICATION – A DISCOURSE IMPLEMENTED BY USING MY OWN BODY AND OBJECT REPRESENTING IT AS WELL AS SPACE WHERE THE BODY IS SITUATED. PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF THE BODY AND THEIR MUTUAL RELATION ARE PARADIGM OF DIFFERENT EXISTENTIAL SITUATIONS. THAT RELATION IN A RANGE FROM INERTIA TO TENSION OR TO TOTAL DESTRUCTION, BESIDES, THE VISUAL CONNOTATIONS REFERS TO SYMBOLIC AND IMPLICIT LAYER OF MY OWN BEING.
  
  Short bio:
  Dragan Vojvodić was born in Kula. He graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad in 1995. In his artistic practice, he uses various media – performance, installation, in situ, video, photography, sculpture, painting. His exhibiting activity began at the Academy, and in 2005 he started using extended media. A significant part of his work is realized in Scandinavia, where he has had a number of solo exhibitions: Bent Paintings, Rogaland Kunstsenter, Stavanger, Norway (2015); The Diary of Nonexistence, Konstepidemin, Gothenburg, Sweden (2014); Stone Sculpture Competition, USF Verftet, Bergen, Norway (2012); Inside- Outside, Titanic Gallery, Turku, Finland (2008); Let Me Show You My Teeth, SIM House, Reykjavik, Iceland (2006).

  Solo exhibitions in Serbia (selection): Neoplanking, Culture Centre of Belgrade, Velgrade (2017), Reformation, Goethe Institute, Belgrade (2017); Soundless, Grafički kolektiv, Belgrade (2015); Tattooed Room, Ozon Gallery, Belgrade (2010); Organism, Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, Novi Sad (2007), etc.

  A selection from group exhibitions: The Unbearable Lightness of Transition, Gallery of the Serbian Cultural Centre, Paris (2017); Internal Migrations, Duplex 100m2, Sarajevo (2016); Demolition of the Wall, Performance Festival, Varaždin and Museum of Contemporary Art, Pula (2015); Premonition, Blood, Hope, Kunstlerhaus, Vienna (2014), Mikser Festival, Belgrade (2010).
Grants and residencies: USF Verftet, Bergen, Norway (2016, 2012);
Erró Nelimarkka Museum, Alajärvi, Finland (2016, 2008); Rogaland Kunstsenter, Stavanger, Norway (2015); Konstepidemin, Gothenburg, Sweden (2014); Cite des Arts, Paris, France (2004, 2011); Titanic Gallery, Turku, Finland (2008); SIM House, Reykjavik, Iceland (2010); University Illinois, Chicago, USA (1996).

  His works are part of the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, Erró Nelimarkka Museum in Finland; 700 IS Video Art Festival in Iceland; Terra, Kikinda etc.

  He is a member of SULUV (League of Associations of Fine Artists of Vojvodina) and ULUS (Association of Fine Artists of Serbia).

• Suprematistic transmission and transition

  21.07.-06.08.2017.

  Performance entitled Suprematistic transition was held on the 31st of July 2017 in 20:30h in front of the new building of Museum of Modern in Contemporary Art Rijeka (Krešimirova street).
  
  Suprematistic transmision art action was held on the 1st of August 2017 in 7:30h; art action started in front of the new building of Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Rijeka and was continued down the city's litoral zone on different locations, ending in front of the Tito's ship Galeb.

  
  About the performance and action
  In Suprematistic transition Vojvodić shows eclectic conjunction of different segments which can be read in audio-visual and narrative-metaphoric interpretative models consituted by: video-work, the act of painting the Black Square and the ignition of (football) torches at the end of the performance. In the video- work, the Black Square (as a symbol of energy) is being transformed into the Red Square (as a symbol of revolution) and then into the White Square (as a symbol of cosmic infinity); the painting is replaced by a thought and an idea about it, and this (painting) transistion corresponds with the social one (the anthithesis principle).

  Suprematistic transition evolved into the Suprematistic transmission in the beginning of 2016 – an art action with performative structure was realised as part of the residential project in Bergen, Norway in the Cultural Centre USF Vertet, and was further developed in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina, as part of the exhibition entitled Inner Migrations in Duplex 100m2 gallery.
  
  Dealing with the phenomenon of body, movement, discontiunity, relationship between art and society, the rise of the neo-liberal concept, the citation, re-reading and recognition of continuity of artistic thought - in relation to the Black Square which, in the context of Bergen and Sarajevo claims new meaning – the city becomes a part of the painting by replacing the white background, but at the same time the painting situated in the open space emits the idea of art in real space and urban environment.
  
  By using geometric suprematistic forms - square, circle and cross - all in the context of reminding us of the power and potential of the first avant-garde art practice in relation to social change, and applying them in the non-institutional space via artistic practice, performance and installation, Vojvodić aims to appropriate and contaminate the space of urban environment, juxtaposing artistic and non-artistic, institutional and non-institutional, confronting random audience with an art form which pours itself out and appears in the most unexpected places. The whole city becomes potential stage or gallery space suitable for art intervention.
  
  Part of this text was taken from the Dunavski dijalozi catalogue, Festival savremene umetnosti, Novi Sad, 2015., written by Ljiljana Maletin Vojvodić.

• Museum of modern and contemporary art

  → www.mmsu.hr

  Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka (HR) - MMSU

   

  MMSU in Rijeka founded in 1948, in its long tradition offers a committed support to innovative ways of approaching, producing and presenting art. From its very beginning the Museum has been building reputation of one of the most prominent visual art institutions in Croatia, entrusted with presentation of Croatian artists at prestigious international art events such as: Venice Biennial 1962, 1997, 2007, 2010, Sao Paolo Biennial 1967, 2004 etc. 

  The Museum rounds its programming around visual art education, parallel to different modes of exhibition concepts that address new discursive possibilities and transform it into a place of inspiration, idea exchange and active participation. Under the motto openness, creativity & engagement, together with artistic, cultural and community organizations, Museum furthers visual arts research, collaboration and exchange within the region and internationally, while aspiring to reach increasingly diverse audiences and to work in a close relationship with the community.

  Museum’s collection offers a diverse range of artistic visions with over 8,000 artworks dated from the end of the 19^th century to the present day. From 2017 Museum is located at new address, Krešimirova 26c, in ex-industrial complex Rikard Benčić. Since then, some important exhibitions were organized at MMSU in the framework of the pre-program and program of Rijeka 2020 - European Capital of Culture, i.e. Tomislav Gotovac: Crisis Anticipator - Don't Ask Where We're Going (2017), Vlado Martek: Exhibition with Many Titles and Goran Petercol: Don't Worry About Poetics, They Will Arrive on Their Own in 2019 and David Maljković: With the Collection in 2020..