Ante Milas (with permission from Ante Milas)

During my studies, I understood all the necessities and ruptures of the historical development of modern art from Cezanne onward and tried to integrate them in my works; not in the usual modernist way of radically breaking with the long tradition of Western, Christian art; but, in the way which is much more demanding, trying to make a possible synthesis of these two greatness, said Ante Milas in an interview I conducted with him on January 30, 2025 in Cologne, in the nice Boesner Kunstbedarf Bistro.”

He is known for the monumental work of the History of Salvation (2004), an altar painting in oil on canvas, 14 and 8.40 meters in length, set at the Holy Cross Church in Fulda – Maberzell in Germany.

Ante Milas has continuously exhibited in Germany and other countries (Duesseldorf, Koeln, Paris, Rome, Zagreb, Rijeka, Madrid, Venice, New York, Dubrovnik). Many of his works are in public and private collections.

Born in 1953 in Croatia (Ivanovac), he studied theology at Đakovo (Croatian) and Bochum (Germany), as well as painting and graphics at the Duesseldorf Academy of Arts (Germany) obtaining master’s degree.

At an early age, aware of his talent, he decided to pursue art. He says that when asked why he chose art, he used to jokingly quote Ovid: “As a boy, I liked the song of heaven, and even then, secretly, the Muse was drawing me to her work.”

His early childhood experiences and impressions shaped his personality as well as the vision of his art. It also helped him maintain his independence and create his own way. The talent of Ante Milas is manifested in his sense for colors, balance, expression, and especially in an extremely precise and perfect drawing, which is unattainable to many painters. In his works one can recognise elements of past epochs in art, but only in the sense that he has mastered them. He uses them in a new, kind of way, thus bringing completely other emotions and thoughts.

The “blurriness” and dark tones on some Milas’ paintings might be compared to the most beautiful pianissimo in music composition when silence tons enhances attention and frees thought and emotions. Sometimes by “blurriness” he achieves spirituality.

His paintings reflect intellectuality, knowledge and spirituality. They encourage thought and attract the viewer to immerse deeper and deeper into the image, and they could always be viewed again.

Two monographs of Ante Milas have been published: Ante Milas-In Zikkurat (Firmenich 2002) and Ante Milas-Selected Works, ISBN 978-3-7319-1472-3

Ante Milas – St. Peter the Apostle (with permission of the author, Ante Milas)

Milas’ works of sacral content were included in the monograph Ante Milas-Selected Works; The History of Salvation, the Apostles (Disciples of Jesus), studies for the altar image of the Holy Spirit as well as several representative works from other cycles.
The altar painting History of Salvation with a rich and suggestive depiction, encompassing key moments of the mystery of salvation of the Christian faith from the fall of the angel, accompanied by the flash of lightning, the expulsion of Paradise, the Babylonian tower, the general flood, Noah’s Ark, Abraham with Isaac, Sinai, Golgotha to the Resurrection.

The cycle of paintings of the 14 Apostles is interesting and attracting attention with its different depiction, both in the unusual shape of the triangle on the rhombus and in the inspiredly chosen iconology of the painting, different from what has been the case in the long history of Christian art. The Monograph presents seven paintings of the apostles, and Ante Milas is currently working on the remaining seven.
The monograph Ante Milas – In the Zikkurat brings together several cycles, created during his studies at the Academy, whose titles suggest that Ante Milas depicts the world around him in a certain space and time. This is true, but Milas’s way of depicting it has made that world timeless, whether it be Memory of the Old Town, Asphodel Meadows – Flowers for Vukovar, University Cafe Duesseldorf or paintings of landscapes and cities ( Old Townt, plaster and pigment for paints on reeds, 180 x140cm).

Jasna Lovrincevic: If you could please tell a little more about your works from your student days, published in the monograph Ante Milas – In the Zikkurat.”

Ante Milas: “The main themes that I have been developing in series over many years and to which I always return cyclically after a shorter or longer period of time date from that time; University Cafe Duesseldorf, Asphodel Meadows – Flowers for Vukovar and Memories of the Old Town. The series of works begin with a drawing and oil on canvas in the manner of the old masters, so that the motifs in the next drawing or oil on canvas gradually develop, so to say, from drawing to drawing, from painting to painting, in the direction of abstraction until the edge of figurativeness. Parallel to this it is the process of realizing motifs in other techniques and materials, such as works in plaster, mortar, concrete or in collages of motifs in plywood of different thicknesses and colors, includig luminous panels that act like stained glass windows in a church.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “In the Zikkurat there are several works from the Memory of the Old Town series. It is amazing how many characters you have depicted in these paintings, each character is different in appearance, clothing, position, movement and facial expression, each is fully crafted, but the painting leads the viewer to view it as a whole rather than individual characters.”

Ante Milas – In Laoocom, oil on canvas,75 x 100 cm. (with permission of the author, Ante Milas)

Ante Milas: “These are early works. If you look at the first drawings in the series University Cafe Düsseldorf or Memory of the Old City, all that multitude of faces and figures squeezed into the space of a cramped cafe or the multitude of geometric shapes that create the illusion of the interior of a modern room; the theme here is the relationship between parts and the whole. The relationships must be perfect, not a single part of the picture must jump out of the “circle”, it must not be profiled at the expense of the whole picture or its neighboring shape, neither in color, nor in shape, nor in the arrangement on the surface of the picture format. This is the essence of the art that my professor Klapheck has been engaged in all his life; the absolute harmony of the relationship between the elements of the picture and its whole. It cannot be identified in any place in the drawing or painting, but is constituted in the consciousness of the observer and created in the act of observation.
That is why, in front of Professor Klapheck’s work Bicycle, my acquaintance and Croatian poet Boro Lukšić once said; “What we see in his paintings is agonizing geometry, but Klapcheck transforms it into great poetry!”
I think that in the University Café I managed to satisfy all the requirements of such an aesthetic, while additionally lending a touch of atmosphere and thus spatiality with my colors!?

Jasna Lovrinčević: “Among your early works is Hiroshima – Christ (pencil and oil on canvas, 90 x 220 cm) from the Rise of the Titans cycle, originally called Prometeus. How did the name Hiroshima – Christ come about?”

Ante Milas:“I was inspired for this work by a picture in the news of Pope John Paul II stepping out of a plane onto the ground in Hiroshima, bending down and kissing the ground. A very moving picture, full of symbolism.

Ante Milas, The Last Guest, oil on canvas, 140 x 180 cm. (with permission of the author, Ante Milas)

If in the aforementioned series Memory of the Old Town and University Cafe the construction of the picture played the main role, in the series Rise of the Titans and Fields of Asphodel it was colour; grey paint and pencil drawing on canvas. The task was to achieve, following the example of Leonardo’s “sfumato”, a deep spatiality of colour. Leonardo succeeded in this by applying extremely thin glazes on glaze; like dew, layer upon layer, until the colour achieved, not its consistency but its appearance.
I tried to achieve this transcendentality, this spirituality of color, if I may call it that, by washing off the semi-dry paint with turpentine and a cloth, layer upon layer, until the illusion of color appeared as a membrane on the surface of the canvas, that is, on the border between this world and the next.

This is also the case with the painting Hiroshima Christ. I painted it during my academic studies as a summary of the spiritual life of my past and at the beginning of a new period of life that I wanted to devote entirely to art. I dedicated the painting to my mother.

I wanted to give the painting to Pope Benedict XVI. I got an appointment and came to Rome with the painting. The date for the painting’s delivery was postponed until further notice because the Pope suddenly had to attend another meeting. The painting remained in the Vatican with Monsignor Held (the German ambassador to the Holy See), who on the same day forwarded it (the painting) to the Secretary of State, Monsignor Genswein, in charge of the Pope’s gifts. Unfortunately, I did not get another appointment and to this day I do not know where the painting ended up.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: In Svjetlana Lipanović’s book The Splendor of Croatian Art, (ISBN 978-88-6864-213-6) in the text entitled “Ante Milas – Symbolic Realism” it is stated that you explained your art by quoting Franz Kafka that the art of a man will always contain the light of the church of his childhood. ”

Ante Milas: “Kafka probably wanted to say that a child in church experiences the world as holy, in terms as a liberated, saved world. The beautiful and most important Croatian words for this are: everything, universe, light, holy…, which are deeply connected. They are the beginning of metaphysics!? Is it any wonder that all monotheistic religions begin in the desert?! A negative landscape, as they say, only heaven and earth and the Spirit of the Lord hovering over the abysses?! And the wonder, or rather the admiration that Aristotle puts at the beginning of thought!? He puts wonder at the beginning of philosophy. Or in Kant the starry sky above us and the moral the law within us!?

Let’s go back to Kafka and the light of the church from childhood.

Ante Milas (with permission of the author, Ante Milas)

Until the Independent War, we Croats lived in a state that was not ours, in a regime that was imposed on us and in political misalliance with neighbors who were not kind to us as a people. That is why in church, during Midnight Mass of the Christmas Eve, for example, we got a feeling of liberation of the people *who walked in darkness and saw great light* (Isaiah, 9:1), we experienced mutual unity, harmony, reconciliation of heaven and earth because the Savior was born. I remember well how it snowed on Christmas Eve, how sleighs with horses came to our parish church at midnight from afar with lamps and the singing of people and children, wrapped in thick woolen blankets and fur coats, fragrant shade…

When I arrived in Germany, the world changed fundamentally. Duesseldorf, a rich and beautiful liberal city on the Rhine, a colorful society, crowded with people, the Old Town until late at night…Professor Dr. Frank Guenter Zehnder would later speak in his monograph Ante Milas in the Zikkurat about the “culture shock” that I experienced in the face of civilization. He was primarily referring to the encounter with art that I saw at the Academy (in Duesseldorf).

Unlike the city and German society, the Academy really shocked me. But not in a positive sense, as the professor’s text suggests, but in the sense of the famous scene from Tarkovsky’s film about Andrei Rublev, the famous icon painter, when the painter comes to a village that has just been devastated by the Tatars and to a devastated church…

The last priestesses of the Pythias in the ruined temple of Apollo in Delphi sent a message to Emperor Hadrian in Rome through an envoy
-Tell him that the hall of Daedalus has been destroyed, the source of the holy waters has dried up and the mouth of the prophet has become silent forever…

During my studies, I understood all the necessities and ruptures of the historical development of modern art from Cezanne onward and tried to integrate them in my works; not in the usual modernist way of radically breaking with the long tradition of Western, Christian art; but, in the way which is much more demanding, trying to make a possible synthesis of these two greatness.

Here I see my place in the wide range of what is being tried to encompass today with the “futile” word art!?”

Ivica Matijevic (Photo: Jasna Lovrincevic)

“Creativity to me is being able to allow an accident to happen at the process of creation”, says painter and sculptor, Ivica Matijević
in an interview I conducted with him in February 2019, at his studio, in Moers.

Ivica Matijević, well-known for his wooden objects, has completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo and since 1991 he has lived in Germany where he works as a self-employed artist. His works are regularly exhibited in Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he has also exhibited in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland, Montenegro, Spain and Mexico. His works are displayed in several museums and galleries in different countries, some of them belong to privat art collections and some of them can be found in open spaces and at some churches in Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of his paintings has been selected for the art collection of the German Federal Parliament in Berlin.

Ivica Matijević is an artist of great personality, with recognizable style and his own art technique. To meet him and his work is a very special experience. His cordiality, his confidence, his work attitude, his love for art and it’s power and his artwork are equally impressive. When you step into his studio, you are faced with a huge round wooden object attached, to a opposite wall. That work occupies you immediately with it’s beautiful blue colour, covered with different coloured dots. The scene is magnificent and mysterious, like a starry sky. It fascinates you so much that you with the same feeling continue to look at other pieces of art, sieted in the studio and in each of them you recognize something monumental and unique: whether it is wooden sculptures, various objects, wooden miniatures or open public space models. In the studio there is also one wooden creation of Matijevic, designed for an exhibition organised to mark 100 years since Bauhaus. Ivica Matijević is among three artists invited to exhibit there.

“A puerly geometrical form, and a flat roof are characteristic of Bauhaus architecture. The name of the exhibition is Inspiration Bauhaus”, said Ivica Matijević. On the sculpture, created for this exhibition, he has applied his original technique, a kind of intarsia.

Ivica Matijević says that he has discovered his technique by accident. His three-year-old daughter had put a pencil into the crack of the wooden cube and when she could not pull it out, he has tried to help her. He also could not do it and he has cut the pencil. Then he has noticed that wooden surfaces with the cut pencil has became so vibrant that he has decided to use different pencils in the similar way for his artistic work.

Until the year 1996 Ivica Matijević was known as a painter. For the first time he exhibited his oil paintings at his high school in Maglaj when he was fifteen years old. His first oil paints he received as the present from his uncle when he was only ten years old.
Jasna Lovrinčević: “Why have you continued using wood and what is so attractiv about that natural material?”

Ivica Matijević: “For twenty years I have been working exclusively in the wood. Wood is a warm material that can be sculpted and painted. When I sculpture an wooden object, I lead a conversation between it’s natural beauty or it’s form and aesthetics that arise by my hand. Wood is natural material and I am inspiried by its natural structures. Coming from Bosnia, I have a special feeling for the wood. Bosnia is forest-rich land. When we, people from Bosnia, live abroad, we notice how much it is in us.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “How do you define your wooden objects, attached on the wall, which give impression of pictures, with smooth surfaces, without any texture?”

Ivica Matijević: “In art jargon, I make the objects. My objects have height, width and depth and in work process I use the sculpture and painting tools. With drill I make holes into which I put pencils. Then I apply different structures and about 20 to 40 layers of different paints onto a surface. It is interesting that time is important factor of my creation process; when I leave the studio, my works continue to be in process of creation, they are drying. Different structures, cracks and forms emerge from that drying process. That process is impossible to control. These new structures can be very inspiring for me. The following phase is the phase of archeologist. I start to hone and doing that I remove the paint layers. It is very important to recognise the moment when I must to stop it.

To be able to control this process to as extent as is possible, I always make an archive with apllied paints on one surface. Removing paints layers by honing I can approximatelly predict what paint is the next. If I remove larger amount of paint than is desirable, then it will be everything destroyed what I have done for 30-40 days.

Classic painting is the act of applying paint onto a canvas. If I do not like the colour, I wait until the paint has dried and then I apply a new paint. My technique is the opposite to that. I remove the paint. This principle is similar to method of archeologists who remove the layers of soil in order to penetrate into the past time.

The Principle of Accident

Ivica Matijević: I consciously apply different paints onto the surface, but what happens during the drying process, it happens by chance, what I call it: the principle of accident. This principle of accident is desirable for me because with it I get structures which is impossible to achive by painting or to create it. These new structures present certain aesthetic moments and it is important for me to recognize them. The interaction between applied paints and other materials create some of surprising effects. It gives the art freshness.

The classic painting that I had previously done, had been created more consciously, but now, my creative process is characterised by conscious and controlle.

Creativity to me is being able to allow an accident to happen at the process of creation.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “There are often visible line likes ribbon on the painted surface edge of your object. Is that also a conscious part of your creative process?”

Ivica Matijević: “One important and recognizable aspect of my art is constructivism. I apply certain geometric shapes and lines with which I try to limit and to tranquillize my compositions to a certain extent.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “Your artworks mostly have the names. How do you give them?”

Ivica Matijević: “The name is not given to the artwork, but it happens during the process of creation. The name of the artwork is something that has emerged as the painting itself. I can not give the name or title in advance, then it would be work on the subject as by the commission artwork. The name occurs in the process of creation or does not occur, there is no obligation to give a name.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “What does it mean art for you?”

Ivica Matijević immediately answered “all” and he sincerely laughed.

Ivica Matijević: “All. What does it mean art for me? It is difficult question. Life is not art, but life without art is much poorer than with it. I have good luck that my profession, besides my family, is my great love. So, art is my preoccupation. I come to my studio every day. I start to work at eight o’clock and I leave my studio at five o’clock in the afternoon. I don’t need special inspiration. I find it at my work because I have been in a work continuum. Of course, for these 20-30 years of art, my way of thinking and approaching the image has become something as a science. I am constantly in some kind of aesthetic process like quest and search. To me the art is still an adventure and research. Each of my objects is a new challenge for me. At the start of a new work, I often have the feeling as I do it for the first time.”

The Cubes Enriched by Intarsia

Jasna Lovrincevic: “How did you have the idea to designe these cube?”

Ivica Matijević: “Sometimes the worthless pieces of wood that I usually receive from my friends, inspire me and thanks to my original technique, they become, I hope, something special. Today, many people think it is two hours enough to create an artwork. That is not true. It is very important for me to have patience and perseverance and to be clear and precise. Also it is important for me to have a concept and vision about it; how should something look like, not today or in two hours time, but in a month or in two months time.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “You have designed a seriesof wooden cubes. It is interesting, each of them is different?”

Ivica Matijević: “One craftsman creates works using his skills and tools known to him, but one artist always starts from a zero. As an artist I know a technique, but the way how to produce the peace of art, how to breathe aura into my art object, that does not depend on my technical precision. One painting needs to have an aura. It is not necesseraly to look beautifully, but it should initiate some new thought in the viewers or give them an opportunity for discussion. Otherwise, it is just a imitation, an illustration of some idea. I do not accept it as an art. It means, a peace of art has to posses height and depth and each of breach what has to exist in one art work. What is specific to my works today is that they have an esthetic quality. I’m perfectionist, considering the style. It is said that my works look like baroque works considering their high aesthetic quality. Aesthetic is a very important element of my work and I always try to achieve it. The painting should be produced professionally and of high quality, it should have high aesthetic values and should be emotionally charged.

From The East

At the atelier of Ivica Matijević there is one big wooden sculptur, that attracts attention. It is one of fifty that Matijević has done. He says he would like to see them arranged in row, one by one.

Ivica Matijević: “It’s a standing figure. It’s called From the East. To create sculpture like this it is meditative and intensive work process. Actually, I liberate a figure from the wood, led by the structure and the natural growing form, trying to reveal what is hidden beneath the surface. Every beam has its own mystical power, it has something special in itself, and I could repeat the words of Michelangelo, who said: -There is one person inside each stone and I just need to set him free.”

The Public Art

Artworks, produced by Ivica Matijević are often commissioned by different institutions or organisations. Some of his commissioned artwork are still in process of production, and two of them sited on the squares of Neukirchen-Vluyn: a bronze figure called Homeland (Heimat) and Clogs (Klompe).

Jasna Lovrincevic: “Who has given the name for the bronze figure in Neukirchen-Vluyn?”
Ivica Matijević: “Homeland (Heimat) is a statue, created in 2004. That work was a gift to the city, given by a businessman Imre Ladocsi, who came from Hungary. He financed it together with the City of Neukirchen-Vluyn. In fact, he donated the statue to the city in gratitude for his successful years he spent there as an entrepreneur. This is a male figure, 2 meters high, in the middle is broken. The word homeland is written in seventy different languages because so many nations live in that city.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “Who has commisioned The Clogs (Klompen)?”

Ivica Matijević: “The Clogs is an interesting project. Ten or fifteen year ago the Clogs were commissioned by The Clogs Friends Association from Vluyn (Die Vluyner Klompenfreunde). Once a year there is a tradition of dancing in the clogs on the square where this work is located. About 300 to 400 couples belong to that Association. Looking for inspiration I have asked what they are doing and what happens when they dance in the clogs. My wife who comes from that city, has said: “The floor is shaking.” So I have created clogs for men and women on an oblique surface to accentuate that dramatic movement. Creating the Clogs I had to learn about tradition and culture of the people from this region. It was interesting to Germans that someone who was not born here, could understand their tradition preserved for hundresd of years. Beside the clogs on the same surface it is written the text of a song on Plattdeutsche Sprache (Lower German Dialect).”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “One of your paintings has been selected for the art collection of the German Federal Parliament in Berlin. What is that painting and who has made selection for that prestigious collection?”

Ivica Matijević: “Every year, they seek written documents from 1000 of artists from all around Germany. The artists receive a invitation and 1000 of artists sent their catalogs. Original artworks are demanded from 100 of artists, and the artworks from circa10 artists will be purchased. I am lucky that I have been among those ten. We artists can not be recommend by ourselves to the Art Commission. The names of artists are suggested by museums, galleries, art historians or curators who arrange the exhibitions. My painting with the name The Way ( Der Weg, 2002, oil on canvas, 180 x 120 cm) was selected in year 2008.”

Sacred Art

Ivica Matijević is also known in Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina by his sacred works, placed at several different churches. For Our Lady Church in Duisburg and for St. Quirinus in Neukirchen-Vluyn he has made the Way Of The Cross. At the St.Quirinus Church he also has created an altarpiece and a monumental image of the Resurrection. This year he has bee engaged for the first time in an evangelical church in Morse to create Tree Of Life. It is impressive circular shaped artwork. The diameter is two and half meters but now it is in a producing process.

Matijević’ first experience with fine art was in his childhood through the Nazarene Christian art.

Ivica Matijević: “At our churches the sacred paintings inspirire us to think and contemplate about thema that features in a work.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “When did you begin to create sacred art?”
Ivica Matijević: “Very early and also I pinted it at the Academy in Sarajevo. The Academy was founded in the early seventies. The professors were young and modern and there was no special direction or style. We had freedom and we could experiment quite a lot. Although it was a communist country, there was no socialist realism as in the countries of Eastern Bloc. Having artistic freedom is often more difficult than to have a specific task. We had professors who knew how to give us instructions and to each of us to give advice for the next step, but not to follow their way but to stay on our own way.

For the first time I made a sacred painting when I was in seventh semester of Academy. The professor came and said: “Ivica, what is that? It looks good.” The professors were liberal and open. There were no problems. I am very happy and grateful to former professors who have taught us about discipline, persistence, and a beautiful cultivated artistic sensitivity.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “Have you got any requirements, in terms of style or way of representing the theme for Church commisioned artwork?”

Ivica Matijević: “As an artist I have absolute freedom because there is no canon in the Catholic Church like, for example, in the Orthodox Church. If we artists receive orders from the Catholic Church, we have freedom to interpret and to make a picture as we see the theme. Of course, sacred architecture is very demanding and one of the tasks or challenges for an artist is to designe a work that will fit into that space, not in the sense of being subordinated to it, but to enoble it. By entering one of the peace of art into the church, it gains a completely new function and role that is, perhaps much biger than the image itself. I have done a hundred of works for various churches, here and in Bosnia. When they talk about me as an artist who makes also some sacred art, they often say about my non sacred objects that I do, that they have also something of that sacred significance and greatness.

Working for the sacred spaces like churches is always a pleasure for me. I do not have to change myself, especially my attitude and my style in order to make a sacred image. That is recognisable on this commisioned artwork, Tree of Life. I think it’s impossible to learn how to make sacred art, it somone brings with himself, he has it within himself or not. We artists sometimes need such great topics to make special works. We still have great respect for sacred space. Churches have always been the biggest and the generous patrons of fine art.”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “You have made one art installation for the Our Lady Church in Duisburg. If you could please say more about that installation?”

Ivica Matijević: “It’s art installation The Resurrection. This installation was created as a joint project with me and members of the ecclesiastical community. They brought some objects and we have done this project at my studio in three to four days. Among other things in that installation there is a mirror. Resurrection is a yearning; we wonder what will happen later on. The mirror is a symbol of a reality and our physical presence. In Resurrection it is about that; at first look at yourself in the mirror, maybe you are already the oucome of some resurrection. Before you start looking in the future, first recognize the moment in which you live and how you live, recognize yourself.”

Open Your Eyes And Watch It!

Ivica Matijevic (Photo: jasna Lovruncevic)

Talking about today’s tendency of seeking explanation from artists about their art, Ivica Matijević considering that in visual art the people use the sight more than other senses, supports idea to experience the visual art watching it.

Ivica Matijević: “We use mostly the sight (in visual art), all the other senses we use only 10 percent and in spite of that, many people look for instructions, some text or something written about the artwork. It is interesting, if a large picture is set in a museum or gallery, the most of visitors read the text beside it; title, year of creation and technique as though they could better recognize a picture or experience it. In visual art it goes about that to allow yourself, to use your eyes, inteligence and feelings to recognize a picture, to wander into the picture and to experience it, but not to try to decipher it theoretically or in whatever way. What does this artwork mean? Open your eyes and watch it!”

Jasna Lovrincevic: “Today when art can hardly surprise us with something absolutely new, how difficult is to be original, to find own way?”

Ivica Matijević: “The fact is that we live at a time when there are no special artistic tendencies, no some particular styles. If there is no strong style in 2019, for today’s artists it is fortune or misfortune. Most of them, who are unable to find their own style are guided by fashion and trends. Those who have their own style, without worryng about what is going on, wherever the wind blows, whatever happens, they continue their way. Here, in Germany, they say “Heutige Stillosigkeit ist unsere Stil in Kunst” (Today’s lack of style is our style). To have no style and to have absolute freedom, for many artists mean permanent wandering and seeking, but not for me! There has been no time when I have not known what to do, where and how to work. I have my own style in art, I’m recognizable. It is that what is main intention in art. We recognise it as a compliment when someone says, “You have your own brand!” That is a big compliment.”

Valentina Kvesić

Inspiration and the process of creation differs from one artist to another. While she is painting Valentina Kvesić is led by her feelings and intuition which makes her distinct and interesting. Her art is an expression of her instant feelings what results in an individual and unique style. These are flashes and overflows of everything the artist carries in herself what leads the brush in her hand over the canvas. Through this approach she creates artworks of irresistible attractiveness: a symphony of colors, tint and shades, incredible forms and amazing structures.

Broken Clouds

In the interview I conducted with Valentina Kvesić in October 2014, she said that the most important part of creating art is the process, in which she gives herself up to her feelings and intuition.

Valentina Kvesić: “When I start to paint I give myself up to my feelings and intuition. I admire to paint with the colors that inspire me at a specific moment, to let the painting develop itself, to let my feelings guide me and I admire the process of painting evolving the way the material requires it or the image itself. The process itself is for me most important. Before I begin to paint I have an initial idea, but rarely a specific motif. While I paint I allow the initial idea to change, sometimes I even reverse the top of the canvas to the bottom and I continue to paint from that point. At the end I title the painting when the image is almost finished or already finished.”

Another interesting fact is related to Valentina’s process of painting; she often paints simultaneously more artworks.

Wild kitchen

Valentina Kvesić: “I always paint more canvases simultaneously. While I am painting one canvas, I let the other one to dry and in this way I distance myself momentary from the painting. Later I perceive and observe the image in a different light and thus I get new inspiration what I eventually like to add. ”

Valentina Kvesić’s first major solo exhibition was in 2001 in “Bürgerhaus” in Dietzenbach. Since then, her style of painting has changed.

Valentina Kvesić: “Back then my art was not as abstract as it is today.”

Asked whether it was a conscious decision to change the style, Valentina Kvesić replied:
“No, that was not my goal. My style developed spontaneously, it has not happened consciously. I want to paint intuitively and emotionally. I like abstract art because anyone can interpret something else depending on the observer. When visitors of my art exhibitions look at the titles of the paintings, they often start very interesting conversations, especially if they do not associate the titles with the images. These titles are only an option which shows how I see the paintings, what I associated with them, and I do not expect someone to see the same and to accept these titles. For this reason I like abstract art because it offers the viewer the possibility of thinking and fantasising.”

Spirits that I have summoned

The story of a traveler

Undercover

For her paintings Valentina Kvesić has chosen acrylic, a material that allows her to experiment.
Valentina Kvesić: “I like to experiment. While I am painting I get an idea what I should do, what I could try out, for example, to stick something and to unglue it or to use some new materials with which I accomplish a new structure or a special effect. With acrylics it is possible to correct or paint over an image so that it allows experimentation. I gladly accept new painting appearances, I simply let the image be as it should be at a particular moment. I have an initial idea, but I don’t have a certain goal, when I begin to paint, I let it proceed and evolve … ”

Through experimentation Valentina Kvesić has developed a new, original technique which she is applying on a series of paintings called “Cosmos”. All images of  “Cosmos” are painted on canvases of the same size, measuring 24 x 30 cm. She has emphasized her wish to expose once hundred paintings of this cycle in order to achieve the impression of one whole image.

Kosmos (1)

Kosmos (3)

Kosmos (2)

When asked how much time she needs to finish a painting, Valentina Kvesić replied:
Valentina Kvesić: “It varies. Some paintings I make spontaneously in a few hours, but sometimes it takes up to six months to finish them, of course it also depends on the canvas size. When the size is narrow, it is harder for me to work, and large sizes give me more freedom and it is easier to work. I would like the sizes of my paintings to be even bigger, but I choose that size to make the trasportation to the exhibition easier.”

Fire splendor

Colors as inspiration

The colors are a great inspiration for Valentina.
Valentina Kvesić: “Colors are essential to me, they are my inspiration. The colors in my paintings either contrast or harmonize.”

Just as colors and their stunning combinations emerge in Valentina’s art, in her dressing and in the design of her living space, they probably reflect Valentina’s range of interest in different things, too. She likes many different things, and she is optimistic, an always smiling person who loves languages, sports, jokes, and above all to combine colors.

She came from Split to Germany in the 90s when she was ten years old, so that I was wondering whether the strong colors in her paintings are connected to Split where strong colors equally dominate the landscape: blue sea and sky, green Marjan and reflections of the sun.
Valentina Kvesić: “Yes, maybe this remained within me. I love Split and everything related to it…”

Autumn

Melting process

From a life of a dog

Valentina Kvesić has finished the study of pedagogy and psychoanalysis at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. She is employed in an international company with frequent journeys so that she paints only in her free time.

Valentina Kvesić: “A few months before the exhibition I already start with preparations. I usually have the time for painting when I “catch” it or on weekends, I often paint also during a pre-planned time. Since my existence does not depend on my art, I can devote time to my artistic work when there is an impulse and, of course, free time. ”

Since she was ten years old Valentina Kvesić has attended various drawing and painting courses, starting from children courses for beginners to professional ones (among others in the famous school of art Städel in Frankfurt am Main). She has attended courses of the German painter Helmuth Jahn. Although Valentina’s style is quite different from his, Ms Kvesić says that he probably helped her accepting a completely abstract painting.

Valentina Kvesić: “I have developed my own style and I continue to nurture it, I organize my exhibitions, I identify with what I am doing and I believe that my paintings are liked by others too.”

(Dis) balance between light and heavy, will and power, rights and duties

Jasna Lovrinčević: “Do you bind yourself to your paintings?”
Valentina Kvesić: “To some of them more, to some less. My first painting in acrylic I have kept to myself. Emotionally I relate to each of my paintings, because I have left a part of myself in them, and perhaps a bit of my soul. Well, I am glad when others like my paintings and want to have them. ”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “Do you remember your paintings?”
Valentina Kvesić: “Yes, each of them.”

Till now Valentina Kvesić has had 32 solo and group exhibitions in fourteen cities in Germany, and she is preparing an exhibition in Singapore next year.

Gabrijela Iva Polic

Gabrijela Iva Polic, the young painter from Sydney, was preparing her paintings for the exhibition entitled Sydney Who at The Hughes Gallery in Surry Hills from May 01 – June 10., when she answered my questions about her art, her inspiration and her searching for an own way of art expression.

She finished the College of Fine Arts in Sydney at the end of the year 2013, and she was immediately invited to take part in this exhibition at The Hughes Gallery.

Jasna Lovrinčević: “What does this exhibition mean for you?“
Gabrijela Iva Polic: “For me the exhibition is very important because of the gallery I am working with. The Hughes Gallery currently represented very established Australian artists and they have been known to help start the careers of very recognised artists who are now internationally known. I am just happy that a gallery of such stature has acknowledged me at such an early stage in my career.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “When did you discover your talent for painting and how?“
Gabrijela Iva Polic: “I have been creating things ever since I was a child, and have always loved using my hands. But I must admit when I entered art school I was not a skill-ful painter at all. I struggled with technique a lot at art school, and was not happy with my lack of knowledge in techniques so I would explore alternatives and other media which would hide my lack of knowledge, such as collage or sewing. I always tried to make something beautiful, something I would be proud of, without having to make a proper painting. Last year, 2013, was my final year of university and I was fed up with the fact that I went to art school to learn how to paint, but no teacher really ever taught me anything. I knew I had the desire and the ability to do well at painting if I put my mind to it, but contemporary art schools in Australia rarely teach traditional techniques any more as they push for artists to broaden their mind and create new and exciting things. Much of the time they steer us painters away from painting and lead us to new mediums like video art, photography, sculpture, installation etc. For the reason that I was not increasing my technical knowledge I sought a mentor to teach me techniques I wanted to learn. Her name is Marisa Purcell, she a well recognised and established Australian artist. From our first lesson my skills increased tenfold. I was in the studio every day from 7:30-4 every single day practising, practising, practising and experimenting. I was the only one in school who did this, I was the first one there in the morning and sometimes the last to leave. I got to the stage where I am now, but I still have a lot to learn.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “Where do you find inspiration?”
Gabrijela Iva Polic: “My latest body of work was inspired by the photographic work of Andres Miguel, in particular ‘Woodland Magic’. This work is a photograph of two mushrooms in a beautiful forest. I discovered that mushrooms or fungus exchange minerals and nutrients for sugar with surrounding trees. This photograph made me think of our relationships as humans, and how we give nutrients to each other in the form of loving relationships (friends, family etc). I always think of a quote by C.S. Lewis who once said “It is our friendships that give value to survival”. The idea of these relationships that have intrinsic value in our lives is why I adorn some of the paintings with cell-like patterns that can look like pearls or clusters of diamonds, necklaces or jewellery. In saying this, my work is deeply personal and most of the pictures and compositions come from my own imagination, intuition and emotions. I have only recently (the last week) begun to look at scientific botanical illustration so I can continue and expand this body of work.

Jasna Lovrinčević: “I have seen some of your paintings with beautiful schapes and colours. Some of them remind me of some sea-creatures or cells, what does it mean; life as inspiration, or life creation as inspiration, or God’s creation as eternal beauty….”
Gabrijela Iva Polić: “You are very right in seeing creatures and cells in the paintings. Many times these creatures in my paintings have relationships and connections to each other where they are feeding off, growing from and nurturing one another. In nature, these relationships between different species are called mutualistic relationships. Here one creature/animal/plant will help the other survive by protecting them and giving them nutrients. I use these creatures and scenes in nature as a metaphor for how we live in relationships as humans. Without our loving friends and family, our lives are dull. They give us joy, purpose, support and emotional strength. This, I think is what like is all about, these connections and relationships. Without them we would have nothing and our souls would be dull. Throughout life we meet many people on the way. As we interact and spend time with friends, we sometimes unknowingly, learn from them, take on some of their interests, ways of thinking or speaking, and develop as a person. Through all of these relationships we blossom into the person that we are. It is just like how flowers and bees work.

Jasna Lovrinčević: “You have once mentioned that love is your inspiration; if you could please say more about that. Where does it reflect; in your choice of colours, or motives, or in something else?”

Gabrijela Iva Polic: “My teachers would always say to me, paint about what is important to you. Many young and contemporary artists make art about politics and all the things that are wrong with this world. I am not concerned with politics, I have never cared much for it, I am interested in the things that make me joyful and the things that bring me to despair. Although joy and sadness are completely different, much of the time these strong emotions come from love. Love, can equally make us blissful or distraught. Through the act of painting, I seek to understand love and it’s impact on myself. When I am making a painting, sometimes I remember a hard time in my life and I tap into those emotions. I think of the people who were with me, how they protected me and cared for me. I think of the love hold in my heart for my dearest ones and try to put this into the work. As I mentioned before, it is these loving relationships that help us grow. I think this can be seen in the colour and compositions. How the elements in the picture work together and talk to each other.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “What do you think: is it hard for young artists to be original, to find their own way, or own style of painting?”
Gabrijela Iva Polic: “At first I think it is very hard to develop your own language as an artist. But I think this comes with time and persistence. The only way you will be original and develop your own style is to work every single day.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “What kind of technique do you prefer?”
Gabrijela Iva Polic: “Sometimes I can sit and paint dots all day because it is very meditative. Other times I can be more free with a large brush. It really depends on how I am feeling on the day.”

Jasna Lovrinčević: “Who is your favourite painter? Is there any painter who has influenced your work?“
Gabrijela Iva Polic: “Del Kathryn Barton has always been a large influence from the start of my studies. The sense of connection in her work is always what draws me in.
Ross Bleckner is another artist I am inspired by.”

Gabrijela Iva Polic has also mentioned the names of her famous teachers like David Eastwood, famous for painting interiors, Oliver Watts, theorist, lecturer, and artist, famous for portraiture and Marisa Purcell, famous for her abstract paintings.

Gabijela was born in Sydney. Her origin is Croatian. Her parents came to Australia from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Gabriela often travels to Europe.