OPENING: Thursday, 4th June 2020, at 20:30 h
DURATION: 4 June — 11 June from 20:30 to 22h
NMG@PRAKTIKA, Klub KOCKA
Youth center Split, Ulica slobode 28
Starting from the premise that improvisation is a key factor in creation and that a work of art is never finished, Vladimir Novak forms an artistic discourse from which impressive ambient installations emerge. Still, the artist does not intend to introduce visitors to the finished act, but to invite them to create additional interpretation, which then upgrades the work itself. The visitor experience is a very important starting point in creativity for Vladimir. A strong impulse for experimentation shaped the artist’s expression, in which he combines different media. Although his work as yet included recognizable monumental sculptures made of various materials such as reed, wood, iron, concrete, etc., recently he has shifted towards reduced forms with which he collages light, sound and projections. This is a consequence of his last year’s stay at a residence in Paris (which was made possible by the Grand Prix he won at the 34th Youth Salon), when he made a twist in his approach to work, opening up to other materials and introducing new methodologies.
The works he is presenting to us now were created during the period of isolation within the CreArt residence, and since they were produced in the artist’s residence, this is their first public presentation. The nature of the exhibits is a sort of a response to the past period of the pandemic, in which people were forced to distance themselves from the daily rut and really capture that — as the artist named it – time surplus. Without the audience, he uses this new situation to explore a wave of new possibilities and to focus on what intrigues him the most — the process of creation. These installations are resembling of scenography, consisting of iron structures, wooden planks, paper and other raw materials combined with light and sound. Both the dark atmosphere and an industrial impression that these installations exude in space are reflected through the choice of light effects and audio background. Finally, Novak joins with them his long-standing inclination towards experimental instrumental music, enjoying the process of fragmenting and collaging them. At the very beginning of elaborating an idea, he sets precise frameworks which allow him to indulge in a field of complete entropy. And that — we might call it — chaotic but meaningful process driven by instinct is the core of his work ethic. The emphasis is not on the final product but instead on the process itself. Without a limiting concept, unencumbered by finalization, he intuitively assembles eclectic compositions that are always ready for further improvisation.
About the artist:
Vladimir Novak received his MA in Sculpture in 2017 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. He received several awards: Goranska Sculpture Workshop in Lokve (13th Triennial of Croatian Sculpture), HPB Grand Prix at the 34th Youth Salon — Panoptikon 2018 anda Rector’s Award for his independent project in 2015. He participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions as well as the Cité Internationale des Arts residence (Paris). His works can be found at the Academy of Fine Arts (Zagreb), in Antun Augustinčić Gallery (Klanjec), in private collections as well as in public spaces in Vrsar and Bjelovar. He lives and works in Zagreb.
The activity is part of the project “Gradimo Dom zajedno”, co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund.
