Predrag Todorović - Povratak

Biografija:

Biography:

Predrag Todorović završio je Akademiju likovnih umjetnosti u Rijeci, na kojoj je i predavao. Izlagao je na 36 samostalnih i brojnim grupnim izložbama, a hrvatsku je umjetničku scenu predstavljao u Italiji, Njemačkoj, Finskoj, Mađarskoj, Austriji, Makedoniji i Egiptu. Njegovi su radovi u zbirkama MSU Zagreb, MMSU Rijeka, NSK Zagreb i brojnim privatnim kolekcijama. Poznat je po svojim skulpturalnim instalacijama i crtežima na metalu. Član je HDLU i HZSU, a živi i radi u Zagrebu.

Predrag Todorović Graduated from the Academy of Fine arts in Rijeka. He has been teaching at ŠPUD Rijeka and ALU Rijeka. He exhibited at 36 solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions, and is represented in the collection of MSU Zagreb, MMSU Rijeka and NSK Zagreb and many private collections. He is a representative of the Croatian contemporary art scene in Italy, Germany, Finland, Egypt, Hungary, Austria and Macedonia. Predrag is Member of HZSU and HDLU. Works and lives in Zagreb.

Predrag Todorović

Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika | Croatian Association of Fine Artists Galerija Bačva | Galerija Bačva Trg žrtava fašizma 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia | www.hdlu.hr

POVRATAK

Radno vrijeme: Srijeda – nedjelja 11 do 20. Ponedjeljkom, utorkom i blagdanom.

Working hours: Wednesday to Sunday 11am – 8pm. Monday. Tuesday and holidays - closed IMPRESUM | Nakladnik/Publisher: Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika/Croatian Association of Fine Artists, Trg žrtava fašizma 16, 10 000 Zagreb, hdlu@hdlu.hr, www.hdlu.hr | Za nakladnika/For the publisher: Josip Zanki | Upravni odbor HDLU/Executive board of HDLU: Josip Zanki (predsjednik/president), Tomislav Buntak (dopredsjednik/vicepresident), Fedor Vučemilović (dopredsjednik/vicepresident), Ida Blažičko, Ivan Fijolić, Monika Meglić, Melinda Šefčić | Umjetnički savjet Galerije Bačva/Artistic board of Bačva Gallery: Tomislav Buntak, Suzana Marjanić, Koraljka Kovač Dugandžić, Leonida Kovač, Ivan Fijolić, Josip Zanki, Ivica Župan | Ravnateljica/Director: Ivana Andabaka | Stručna suradnica/Associate: Mia Orsag | Predgovor/Preface: Antin Maračić | Grafičko oblikovanje kataloga/Catalogue Design: Duje Medić | Prijevod/ Translation: Zana Šaškin | Lektura/Proofreading: Zana Šaškin | 3D dizajn, simulacija i optimizacija forme/3D design, simulation i optimization of shape: Ervin Poljak | Izvedba i krojenje balona/Balloon production and tailoring: Lars Shubert, hochinaus Luftwerbegesellschaft mbH | Tisak/Printed by Cerovski | Naklada/Copies: 150 Generalni pokrovitelj: Arena Centar

Autor posebno zahvaljuje Ervinu Poljaku za cjelokupan doprinos u realizaciji projekta.

Sponzor:

Izložba je realizirana uz financijsku potporu Ministarstva kulture Republike Hrvatske i Gradskog ureda za kulturu, obrazovanje i sport Grada Zagreba / The exhibition is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic Croatia and by the City Office for Culture, Education and Sports Zagreb.

Otvorenje izložbe - 07. listopada 2015. u 20:00 sati | Opening of the exhibition - 07th of October at 8:00 pm Galerija Bačva | 07 - 18. listopada 2015. | Bačva Gallery | October 07 - 18, 2015

Predrag Todorović 2.indd 1

6.10.2015. 13:09:31

MULTI-LAYEREDNESS OF THE MINIMAL FORM

SLOJEVITOST MINIMALNOG DUHA Jednostavna forma i minimalistički postav jednog jedinog, no dimenzijama dojmljivog objekta u jedinstvenom prostoru Galerije Bačva zagrebačkog HDLU-a, nije tek ad hoc invencija nego je, naprotiv, rezultat čitko evolutivnog, dugogodišnjeg radnog procesa Predraga Todorovića.

Ova skulptura-instalacija slijedi nakon Aladinovog duha, protežne prhke kiparske forme nastale i izložene u zagrebačkoj Galeriji Forum prošle godine. Ta trodimenzionalna forma proizašla je pak iz duge prakse autorovih crteža guste teksture koje je izvodio na različitim podlogama, a posljednjih godina grafičkom iglom na površini pocinčanog lima. Riječ je o sustavnom, dugotrajnom, meditativnom postupku izvedbe rojeva kružnih, valovitih, spiralnih poteza-zareza, o njihovim vrtložnim nakupinama koje izviru iz različitih točaka površine i međusobno se prožimaju u zasićenom tkanju završno nastale teksture. Rad na limenim podlogama, shodno prirodi materijala, uključuje u konačnici i iluziju treće dimenzije, svojevrsne op-art učinke koji se izmjenjuju položajem promatrača u odnosu na izložak, odnosno djelovanjem i promjenama svjetla. Ta iluzija prostornosti odnosno dinamizam promjene statičnog crteža potakla je umjetnika da ga pretoči doslovce u treću dimenziju. Tako je nastala skulpturainstalacija izvedena u Galeriji Forum, a kao gradivna jedinica te formeobjekta, koji je kružeći zrakom prelazio iz prizemlja na kat galerije i obrnuto, debljajući prema sredini i tanjeći se poput zmije prema svojim krajevima, upotrijebljena je ready made plastična siva slamka za sok, trodimenzionalni materijalni ekvivalent, analogija kratkom potezuzarezu crteža iz kojih je skulptura proizašla.

Ta forma bila je dakle čin emancipacije od ograničenja dvodimenzionalnosti, oslobođen oblik koji je napustio plohu i osvojio prostor. No njegovo oslobođenje autor nije smatrao završenim, naprotiv, kao da je u pitanju utopijski proces čije nove manifestacije znače tek privremeni napredak. Naime, ma koliko da te materijalno konkretne i opipljive realizacije uvijek uključuju ideju spiritualnog, odnosno doslovce – duha, u slučaju izložbe u Forumu radilo se o ‘zarobljenom’ (Aladinovom) duhu kome je šupljina galerije zapravo bila pandan boci odnosno zatvorenosti u njoj. Jer, iako djeluje kao prostorno izdašno razvedena forma, prema autorovom tumačenju, unutrašnjost galerije postaje zona ograničenja njezine protežnosti, skulptura utjelovljuje ideju bića kojemu je onemogućena potpuna realizacija.

Time se dodatno komprimira, odnosno obogaćuje značenje oblika koji drastično manifestira i razvija svoju prostornost te, paradoksalno, istodobno trpi osporenost ostvarenja svog potencijala.

Isti tip produktivne ambivalentnosti i dvosmjerne semantike događa se i s ovim objektom u Bačvi. Postavljen okomito u središtu kružnog prostora, prema svjetlosnom rasteru stropa, oblik djeluje kao bijeli dimni pramen, duhovna supstanca koja se sedimentira i uzdiže u visinu s težnjom porodora kroz oklop zgrade u eter. Istodobno međutim taj spiralni ‘mjehur’ - koji vizualno koincidira s popularno uvriježenim, shematski minimalnim prispodobljavanjem nevidljive duhovne supstance - možemo doživjeti i kao ‘povratnika’ u stanje zarobljenosti, opkoljenosti (zgradom, kućištem, kavezom...), njegov smjer kao stvar retro-pokreta, kao gotovo pesimističnu alegoriju. Naziv rada, uostalom (Povratak), sugerira regresiju, ali i smirenje u cjelini vlastita bića. Paradoksalna je i dodatna sugestija značaja objekta kao kukuljice (autor naknadnom intervencijom obmatanja bijelog – namjenski po njegovoj narudžbi proizvedenog - PVC-balona transparentnom folijom apostrofira taj značenjski aspekt), kao predstave stanja začahurenosti, no koje istodobno najavljuje i potencijalnu preobrazbu iz nečeg gmizavog, crvolikog u nešto leteće, prozračno, fluidno.

Dakle, i fizički i semantički ostvarena je otvorenost te višesmjernost doživljaja i tumačenja, polivalentnost mogućih entiteta. Upravo ta širina perceptivnog potencijala minimalnog znaka-objekta, u neposrednom i naglašenom odnosu s prostorom i njegovim karakteristikama, daje ovom formalno jednostavnom radu - kako u pojavnom (spiralna okomica) tako i u misaono-duhovnom smislu - izuzetnu živost i dinamiku.

Autor, uostalom, vrlo svjesno ističe svoju nadahnutost i specifičnu motivaciju konkretnim prostorom: Svojom arhitektonskom posebnošću (prizemlje/dno – sjenovito i ‘vlažno’, u suprotnosti s visokim stropom, is-

Predrag Todorović 2.indd 2

kasetiranim svjetlom) Galerija Bačva oduvijek me asocira na Platonovu arhetipsku priču o špilji. Vezano za taj doživljaj nametnula mi se i tema, pa i sam naziv izložbe. Gotovo poput sheme, obrasca u svim neoplatonističkim školama i svim teologijama prisutna je ideja-stav o procesu emanacije iz Jednog i povratak u Jedno. Povratak bilo koje pojave ili manifestacije u njezino prapočelo. Povratak od mnoštva oblika na periferiji (u špilji) u Bit i Jedinstvo.

Zbog svoje jednostavnosti i veličine, analogno prostoru u kojem se događa, ovaj rad posjeduje vizualnu dojmljivost i monumentalnost koja se nipošto ne treba izjednačavati s pukom neproblemskom dekorativnošću. Naprotiv, konstatirali smo, imanentna mu je kompleksna semantika, poticaj na kontemplaciju.

Stoga namjera da nakon ove izložbe rad postane stalni sastavni dio ambijenta jednog trgovačkog centra slične arhitektonike (koji je omogućio i njegovu produkciju), ne samo da ga ne degradira na jednodimenzionalni ukrasni element nego mu pridaje i stanovitu ‘subverzivnu’ dimenziju. Odnosno - mogućnost da zanos šopinga kod korisnika centra bude na trenutak oplemenjen nekom drugom vrstom interesa. Možda klicom ideje povratka?

Antun Maračić

The simple form and minimalist set-up of the only, but impressivein-size, object exhibited in a unique space of the Bačva Gallery in the Croatian Association of Artists, is not just an ad-hoc intervention; quite the contrary, it is a result of Predrag Todorović’s easy-to-read, evolutionary, years-long work.

This sculpture-installation came after the Aladdin’s Genie, a diffused, crisp sculptural form created and exhibited last year in the Forum Gallery in Zagreb. This three dimensional form derived from the author’s long lasting practice of dense drawings on different surfaces, which, in the last couple of years, were created using a graphic needle on galvanized metal sheeting. This is a systematic, long-lasting, meditative procedure of creating swarms of circular and undulating, spiral strokes-scorings, spiral agglomerations that well out of the different points of the surface, interfusing at the end in a saturated weave of the created surface. His work on sheet metal, in accordance with the nature of the material, ultimately includes an illusion of the third dimension, a kind of Op Art effects, which change with the position of the observer vis-à-vis the exhibit, or with the effects and changes of the light. This illusion of spatiality or the dynamism of change of a static drawing prompted the artist to transmit his drawing literally into the third dimension. And this is how the sculpture-installation exhibited in the Forum Gallery was created. A ready-made object was used as the structural unit of this form-object, which, circling through the air, moved from the ground to the first floor of the gallery and vice versa, thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges, like a snake. This ready-made object was a plastic straw, a three-dimensional material

equivalent, the analogy of a short stroke-scoring of the drawing the sculpture originated from.

This form was the act of emancipation from the limitations of twodimensionality, a liberated form that left the surface and conquered the space. However, the author did not see its liberation as a finished process, on the contrary, it is like an utopian process whose new manifestations mark only a temporary improvement. No matter how much these materially concrete and tangible realizations always contain the idea of a spiritual substance, or literally – of the spirit, in case of exhibition at the Forum Gallery this was a “trapped“ (Aladdin’s) genie, to which the interior of the gallery actually became a metaphor for the bottle, i.e. of being trapped in it. Although it seems like a spatially well-elaborated form, according to the author’s interpretation, the interior of the gallery becomes a limit zone for its diffuseness; the sculpture embodies the idea of a being unable to realize its full potential.

This additionally compresses, or enriches, the signification of the form presented, which at the same time drastically manifests and develops its extension and, paradoxically, has to suffer the challenge of reaching its potential. The same type of productive ambivalence and twoway semantics takes place in the object exhibited in the Bačva Gallery.

Vertically placed in the middle of a circular space, in accordance with the ceiling light grid, the form looks like a strand of white smoke, a spiritual substance, which sediments and rises with the tendency to penetrate through the shield of the building into the ether. This spiral “bubble“ – that visually coincides with popularly ingrained, minimal comparison with an invisible spiritual substance – can at the same time be experienced as a ‘returnee’ into the state of captivity, of being surrounded (by a building, box, cage…), its direction seen as a matter of retro-movement, as an almost pessimistic allegory. The title of the work (The Return), suggests regression, but also tranquillity in the totality of his being. There is another, paradoxical, suggestion, that the object signifies a cocoon (the author emphasizes this semantic aspect by wrapping the white PVC balloon – commissioned by the author himself – in a transparent foil, in a subsequent intervention), as the presentation of a cocooned state, but which at the same time announces the potential transformation from something crawling, wormlike, into something flying, ethereal, fluid.

Thus, this openness and diversity of experiences and interpretations, versatility of possible entities, is achieved both physically and semantically. Precisely this vastness of the perceptive potential of a minimal sign-object, in an immediate and emphasized relation with the space and its characteristics, provides this formally simple work – both in the sense of its appearance (spiral perpendicular) and in a speculative–spiritual sense – with an exceptional vibrancy and dynamics.

After all, the author very consciously emphasizes his inspiration and specific motivation, which he draws from a specific space: With its architectural uniqueness (ground floor/bottom – shady and ‘damp’, in contrast to the high ceiling, coffered light) the Bačva Gallery has always reminded me of Plato’s archetypal story of the cave. In relation to that, I came up with the topic, as well as the name of the exhibition. Almost like a scheme, a template, the idea-attitude on the process of emanation from the One and return to the One is present in all Neoplatonic schools and all theologies. The return of any phenomenon or manifestation to its origin. The return from the multitude of forms on the periphery (in the cave) to the Essence and Unity.

Due to its simplicity and size, in line with the space where it is located, this work has a visual impact and monumentality which should in no case be equated with plain decorativeness. On the contrary, as we have determined, it has an immanent complex semantics, it encourages contemplation. Therefore, after this exhibition, it is our intention to make this work a permanent installation in a shopping mall with a similar architecture (which also enabled its production), which not only does not degrade it to a one-dimensional decorative element, but it also gives it a certain ‘subversive’ dimension. Or, so to speak – the possibility to enrich the enthusiasm of shopping experience of the shopping mall visitors with some other kind of interest. Maybe to plant a seed of the idea of the return?

Antun Maračić

6.10.2015. 13:09:37