CURATORIAL EXIBITION
ART ON PAPER
If we look at art through the skills of an artist, and at paper as a material that allows that skill to be channeled in unique art expression, then this curated exhibition represents the moment when artist and canvas (or in this case paper) connect. That connection is the main subject of the exhibition, the moment when artist and paper become one, with all the immediacy that paper as a material holds, and the drawing as a product of that collision brings us joy, evokes thinking and self evaluation.
Invention of paper is considered to be one of the milestones of modern society. It has its origins in Ancient civilizations of the Far East, with China marked as its birthplace. As paper is a material that shows the trace of everything that’s been done on its surface, it has a certain caracter of directness which makes it an unique canvas that requires mistake proof art creation.
If we look at drawing as a base for all visual arts and as an traditional art form on its own, then the subject of this exhibition can be defined as primal expression, interpretation of light, basic art concepts, thinking, intention, emotion, fantasy, that are given a form in the shape of a simple drawing. Drawing itself became an independent art form in the 15th century, and from that moment on the most diverse palette of drawings was used by artists for expressing their tendencies.
Although in modern art a simple line represents an independent art form, not necessarily connected to the actual shape of objects it represents, drawings that are a part of ‘’Art on paper’’ project, don’t ignore the concept of figuration, which means they are a part of figural art, not abstract, and in that frame every artist developed an unique and personal art poetic that holds its well deserved place in modern Serbian art.
Artists that were chosen to participate in this project are artists with unique art expression and creative spirit, they are all a part of a young generation of Serbian artists, which connects them, as well as the fact that they use paper as main material for expressing their art poetics. Every artist developed its own art expression through their work so far, which was exhibited to the audience as a part of solo and group exhibitions and many of them won eminent prizes in different areas.
Chosen artists, that were invited by me, were creating new pieces specifically for this project in the past six months. They created a whole series of works on paper, in dimensions that were previously determined, while staying true to themselves and their own recognizable art expressions, subjects and signatures.
Biljana Jotić, art historian
