Kako 2011

Curator: "Kako," painted in 2011 by Dragan Ilić Di Vogo. It's an acrylic painting, venturing into the realms of surrealism and portraiture. Quite a combination, isn't it? Editor: My immediate impression is...dreamlike. Melancholy, maybe? It's the figure's gaze, so direct yet distant. And all those floating elements! Curator: I think that direct gaze speaks volumes, doesn’t it? Especially set against the surreal landscape Di Vogo creates around her. The figure becomes a grounding point in this… this explosion of imagination. Editor: Explosion is the right word. There's this eruption of colour and form happening at the base of the figure – almost volcanic – while above her head there's this precarious arrangement of objects. It reminds me a little of the anxieties and social discontents, and it seems very deliberately constructed, playing with our ideas of composure and inner chaos. Curator: It also strikes me as deeply personal, almost confessional. The figure is exposed, vulnerable, yet powerful. Do you think that’s amplified by the positioning in a context heavily steeped in art history with this odalisque or reclining Venus feel to it, especially as its filtered through this surrealist lens? Editor: Absolutely. There's a reclaiming, or at least a repositioning, of the female form happening. No longer just an object, but a landscape herself – and a rather turbulent one at that. It’s really questioning the conventional male gaze within these genres. Curator: It feels that surrealism allowed Di Vogo to explore some deep psychological territories here, blending figure and ground into a symbolic space that defies easy answers. It speaks to the complexities and contradictions within the individual, doesn’t it? Editor: Exactly. "Kako," which translates to "how," really encapsulates that questioning, that perpetual searching. I walk away thinking about how much identity is wrapped up with anxieties and cultural critique, which is all reflected in such raw forms here. Curator: The conversation it sparks is as fluid and dynamic as the artwork itself, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely! There’s so much for any modern museum audience to unpack and talk about in a museum or classroom setting today, offering an important avenue of dialogue.