November
Gallery (Belgrade) is, for the second year in a row, running the
exhibition Summer Vibes, whose concept is to give the audience an
insight into the breezier side of art. Replete with theories, political
engagement and everlasting pressure to convey socially substantial messages,
artists, more often than not, find their escapism in the exploration of form,
documentation of spiritual or physical atmosphere, in humor and irony. This
year’s show displays personal impressions of the artists, giving us the
opportunity to see in what way such as everyday life, as an inspiration,
actually provides a whole spectrum of possibilities of visual expression.
The title is
literally illustrated by Svetlana Zdrnja’s gentle drawings, whose experimenting
with material effects of linear forms creates the impression of soft
flickering. Bringing together everyday life and art has, as a heritage of
the avant-garde and, even more, neo-avant-garde art, changed the very approach
to the artistic shaping of form and helped everyday objects to swiftly become
fragments used in the creation of artwork. We find this aesthetic credo in
Marijana Curcic’s works, who uses sugar and candies dyed in pink for her
installations, thus making a humorous remark on our obsession with sweets.
Aestheticization of everyday life through art has even more intensely become
part of our habits, by the rise of Instagram as a platform for both
sharing our daily life and creative visual expression. Dea Cvetkovic’s
photographs, created as Instagram posts, witness its influence on the process
of an art piece creation. Instagram frames our perception of everyday
life and, at the same time, motivates us to aestheticize what surrounds us,
therefore, our life as well.
Massive data
flow and fast-paced life are also factors affecting our “collage-like”
perception of reality. Marta Badurina’s collages show how contemporary collage
is distinguished by its sketch-like character, diary-like notes on current
impressions, and also humor and irony of the titles and “quotes”. The same can
be said about the collages by Laslo Antal who makes a collage a day compiling,
in this way, his visual diary. This diary-like character is also found in
Marina Milanovic’s work who, when traveling, makes abstract visual notes in her
notebook, which illustrate both her inner states and reflections on different
topoi. Travels are also an obsession and recurring theme of the painter Stefan
Lukic, who attempts to paint the very feeling of traveling, relocating,
movement and time flow.
Marijana Ćurčić was born in 1987 in Užice.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree at the Faculty of Fine Arts in
Belgrade, Department of Painting, in the classes of Prof. Mileta Prodanovic and
Prof. Jovan Sivacki. She is a member of the Association of Visual Artists of
Užice, where she works as the coordinator of The Reflektor Gallery. She has participated
in numerous group shows in Serbia and one in Portugal. Her work has been
exhibited in the following galleries: Drina, U10, Reflektor and the City
Gallery Užice.
Marina Milanović was born in Novi Sad,
Serbia (1989). She completed Secondary Graphic School (2008) and obtained a
Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Department
of Graphic Communication, in 2012 and 2014 respectively. She engages in drawing,
illustration, and graphic design and uses them in her personal poetics,
narration, children’s book illustrations and various graphic materials. Besides
that, she writes, holds workshops and lectures. She is a recipient of several
awards for illustration and drawing, among which she likes to highlight the
Neven Award for illustrating Branko Ćopić’s Inside
Out Story (published by Zavod za
udžbenike).
Dea Cvetković was born in 1992 in
Belgrade. In 2018 she earned her Master’s Degree in History of Art, Department
of Modern Art at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. During her
studies, she participated in various student projects (Isfit - Trondheim,
Outside Project – Florence), lectures (The Gallery of Matica srpska) and
conferences (Rijeka, Zagreb, Belgrade). In December 2017 she had her solo
photography exhibition titled Brioni
Diaries at the Marsh Open Space in Belgrade. In May 2019 she took part in a
panel discussion on Instagram and photography at The Museum of African Art in
Belgrade. Her works have been exhibited at several group shows and published in
different magazines and web publications.
Marta Badurina was born in Zagreb in
1995. She holds a Bachelor degree in Industrial Design that she earned at the
Faculty of Architecture, The University of Zagreb. During her bachelor’s
studies, she was active in the field of design meant for stimulating children’s
sensory integration. She has been actively engaged in the work of international
voluntary association MEDS – Meeting of Design Students since 2016, as the
coordinator of the media department. She fosters her artistic penchant for
collages that she typically makes out of junk. She rarely buys the new paper but
works with the one used for cigarette packs, wrapping material or receipts.
Svetlana Ždrnja was born in Subotica in
1986. She completed her secondary education in the field of textile design in
Novi Sad in 2005, and obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Painting at
the Faculty of Contemporary Arts in Belgrade in 2011 and 2013 respectively.
Besides drawing and painting, she also works with analog photography. Her
photographs were published in several national and international magazines such
as Liceulice, Nylon Korea, Girls on film zine, Idle, etc. She has exhibited in
group shows in Serbia and Croatia took part in manifestations such as Belgrade
Design Week, Mixer Festival, Museum Night and The Night of Open Art Studios.
She has had solo shows in Subotica, Novi Sad, and Vienna.
Stefan Lukić is an artist from Užice,
living and working in Belgrade. He completed his bachelor’s studies at the
Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in the class of Professor Djamel Tatah and has
entered the Master’s degree program at the Department of Applied Painting in
the class of Professors Šćepanovic, Božović and Lazović. He has participated in
numerous group shows in Belgrade, Sombor, Nis, Užice and two group shows in
Paris. He had his solo shows in Inđija, Smederevska Palanka, Kragujevac, Vrbas,
Užice, Kraljevo, and Belgrade. He received a scholarship from the City of Užice
and the Faculty of Applied Arts’ Award for Painting.
www.stefanlukic.art (under construction)
László Antal is an artist born in
Subotica. He graduated in 2007 at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Department
for Graphic Communications. He earned his master’s degree in 2012 in Berlin at
The University of Art, in the class of Prof. Henning Wagenbreth. From 2008 to
2014 he was working as the Art Director in Kosztolányi Dezső Theatre in
Subotica and in 2015 worked as a video artist, cameraman, and editor for the
Norwegian theatre troupe Vinge-Müller, in coproduction with Berliner
Festspiele, Volksbühne, and Festspiele in Bergen (Norway). With the author’s
films and videos, he participated in film festivals throughout Europe. Since
2010 he has released 6 albums with his musical ensemble “Sixth June”,
that he performs with around the world. He is a recipient of the Grand Prix Award
of the 43rd Gold Quill, The Award of 8th International Biennial of
Illustrations in Belgrade in 2005, a silver plaque at the Posters Triennial of
Sterijino pozorje in 2010, and Dr. Ferenc Bodrogvari Award for the artistic
contribution to the City of Subotica.
