Plava Stena 1987

Curator: Looking at this mixed-media artwork called “Plava Stena” from 1987, by Vangel Naumovski... what's the first thing that strikes you? Editor: A contained explosion. It feels very visceral, almost like a floral autopsy, with blues dominating, but flashes of life refusing to be subdued in greens and purples. Curator: Floral autopsy is evocative! It speaks to the strange tension I see in Naumovski’s organic abstraction. He’s diving deep into something, but abstracting it into new territory. Naumovski was fascinated by plant and animal life, which he channeled through dream-like images, right? Editor: Exactly, he pulled inspiration from the natural world but imbued it with symbolic meaning from his own inner experiences. It's interesting how he seems to simultaneously dissect and celebrate nature’s forms. It begs questions: what aspects of the organic does he choose to amplify? How are those elements contextualized within his experiences as a Macedonian artist navigating personal and political landscapes? Curator: I think that friction makes the piece so captivating. You can sense his subconscious at play. It’s like watching nature reinvent itself based on inner logic— a private dance between chaos and cosmos, if you will. And mixed media definitely supports that exploration of inner worlds, right? He uses textures and the juxtaposition of different media to express what purely visual mediums cannot convey alone. Editor: And considering this piece was created in 1987, toward the end of socialist Yugoslavia, I see it as resisting constraints through abstraction, maybe gesturing toward freedom by diving into a world of pure form and symbolism, distinct from representational propaganda or art confined to social realism. The tension in this artwork might well be from the artist's yearning for emancipation beyond constraints. Curator: I love your insight about its socio-political context! The organic world here isn't just a pretty thing. It's an avenue of freedom! In the end, Naumovski's dreamscapes serve as an entry into his own existence, full of nuance and complexities. Editor: Absolutely. This piece really encourages us to rethink art’s relation to self and to society. We're urged to seek symbolic rebellion amid constraints and find liberation through intimate self-expression.