His pictorial work translates into an abstract language that could easily have given the impression of an ar st involved in the debate on the “end of pain ng” or on the “last pain ng”. But a careful observa on of the solu ons chosen by Gagović reveals that his minimalist work is performed as a pictorial manual prac ce, made in thick, raised layers of colour, in which he introduces barely visible ver cal stripes. By arranging these pain ngs in iden cal square formats at equal distances from each other, in a series or op ng for unusual arrangements (one next to the other, one below or above the other), Gagović achieves the e ect of a pictorial environment, therefore opposing the norm of the exhibi on prac ce, on the track of the knowledge that the space and the methodology of se ng up are never neutral, but can and must be an ac ve and integral factor of the ar s c presenta on.
Gagović creates an illusionis c image that acts on reality, transforming it, and therefore becomes a reality in itself. The project of oa ng objects (exhibited at the 58th Venice Biennale 2019) leads us through the archetypal use of shapes, colours (gold) and light beyond the concept of me. The ar st’s inspira on nds its star ng point in the lm “2001: A Space Odyssey” by Stanley Kubrick, which deals with human evolu on, the idea of the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and its possible impact on life terrestrial. The Monolith symbolizes the highest human ideal, whose boundaries are always out of reach, but which is always a source of inspira on for personal development and a empts to achieve it. Inspired by the socializa on process and social rela onships, as well as by the considerable developments of technology and its impact on human life – especially in the eld of communica on development – the ar st Vesko Gagović creates a work that reports his re ec ons on the subject, with possible solu ons and causes, as well as on interpersonal rela onships.
Form is a main cons tuent of this work; form that, coloured, takes on plas c, conceptual and associa ve meanings and establishes the rela onship between the tangible and the intangible, the real and the fantas c. Characterized by a pure and somewhat reduced visuality, the manifested world of primi ve forms, thanks to its light and ethereal being, challenges gravita onal forces, irresis bly rising towards the celes al peaks of the human spirit.
Contained in terms of mass and volume, form becomes the symbol and vehicle of the energy eld which, in synergy with the surrounding space, maintains the unity of idea and expression, subject and object. A neon light emanates from within them, thus conveying a powerful sensa on of allusiveness. Objects are empty – emp ness is experienced as a space of the spirit, of contempla on and an acute awareness of the beauty of transience. It represents the singularity of the absent space, its metaphysical quali es and the separa on of the spirit from the material world and a medita on on the rela onship between the ar st, the work of art and the observer. The elements that create the volume appear as old as the Monolith, introducing, in addi on to the usual three, also the fourth dimension, that of me (linear), in fact. Canceling it. In its important dimensions, this collec on of works symbolizes a victory over heaviness and leads to ascension, challenge, op mism – like a sort of Monolith of our mes.
