Universal field 2013

Curator: Dragan Ilić Di Vogo’s 2013 painting, “Universal Field,” really captures a dreamy sensibility, don’t you think? Editor: Absolutely. There’s something unsettling about it though, in a compelling way. The texture of the draped cloth is quite stunning. You can almost feel its weight. And is that oil paint? Curator: It is. There's a fascinating layering of symbolism here. The woman, draped in what appears to be fabric, stands in what might be considered a desolate space, but overhead loom these almost uterine, celestial orbs. I think we are meant to consider the individual within the vast cosmos. Editor: It makes you think about the origins of that material, that cloth... who made it? What were their working conditions? It gives the painting another layer of human experience. Curator: That brings an interesting tension to the dove imagery, normally representative of peace. Do they offer it or challenge the setting's innate loneliness? Even those scattered, tessellated blocks disrupt an easy read. They suggest chaos and ordered systems. Editor: Those blocks definitely grab attention, acting as both structural oddities and aesthetic decisions. Speaking of decisions, the choice to employ oil on canvas is pretty traditional. Do you think the artist was making a conscious effort to ground the subject, to play against the fantastical elements? Curator: That is interesting, this tension of tradition versus invention. By grounding it in a traditional technique, perhaps Di Vogo invites us to explore our own connection to these universal questions with recognizable familiarity. Editor: Or maybe oil paints were simply the most readily available and affordable means of production for them, leading to a broader range of creative possibilities than, say, a digital print. Curator: It really is evocative. It's difficult to pull away. Editor: Right, thinking about both the symbolic meaning, and the very practical decisions behind its construction and materials—they offer completely different ways to situate this artwork in our understanding of the world.