Strpljenje 2018

Curator: Immediately, I’m struck by how dreamlike it is – almost ethereal, with those floating orbs and pastel colors against a somewhat ambiguous background. Editor: This is "Strpljenje," meaning "Patience" in Serbian, a 2018 acrylic on canvas work by Dragan Ilić Di Vogo. It certainly seems poised between realities. Curator: The female figure seems both vulnerable and empowered. There’s a sense of calm in her posture and expression, but the surreal elements disrupt that reading slightly. I wonder about the statement being made around the female form in a state of reverie amidst what almost look like explosions of creativity or… well, perhaps a world of inner thoughts externalized. Editor: It’s fascinating to consider those “explosions” as part of a process, acrylic’s particular capacity to blend offering an insight into labor intensity when we contrast the more straightforward execution of the figure with these amorphous areas. One can feel Di Vogo’s layering of paint; his hand at work, the gesture of brush stroke laid meticulously over gesture. Curator: Yes, absolutely. And thinking of the title, "Patience," I consider how women are often told to be patient, to wait. Perhaps the chaotic surrounding symbolizes all of the inner complexities, ambitions, even frustrations, that might drive a woman’s need for action, and which can not be so easily released because the demands are for stillness and Strpljenje, patience. I read that her "nude" being as a complex representation of intersectional oppressions placed onto gendered body and what they do to the psyche. Editor: An apt insight, one I didn’t immediately recognize due to my fascination of his technique and artistic processes. How the artist built that composition from bare material like canvas and a few acrylic colors, the time taken is palpable. What this implicates materially is patience for Di Vogo too. He’s patiently built up these materials in such a vibrant display. It feels intensely labored over in an amazing display of process. Curator: Well, the layers of interpretation enrich it for me – making visible not just skill and time, but that layered matrix of meaning within and around this feminine representation. Thank you. Editor: And thank you for allowing us to see those connections; I leave this with a renewed sense of respect for this display of Di Vogo's labor and its broader potential significance.