Cuvar doma 2019

Editor: Here we have Dragan Ilić Di Vogo's "Cuvar doma" from 2019, a mixed-media piece with oil paint. It’s incredibly striking. The figure looks like a classical sculpture, but there are so many unexpected splashes of color. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see layers upon layers of symbolic weight. The title translates to "Guardian of the Home," immediately positioning the classical figure – which reads as a guardian angel – within a very specific, protective context. But consider how that protection manifests visually. Notice the deliberate disruption of the angel’s pure form. The splotches of colour are a visual interruption, like trauma made visible on a monument. Editor: Trauma? It’s just so vibrant. I was thinking of it as more celebratory than anything else. Curator: But does celebration preclude underlying wounds? I see a figure burdened with the task of preserving memory. Even the checkerboard cube carries associations of duality, balance and risk—like a game being played for very high stakes. Editor: So the home isn’t just a physical space, but also a repository of history, good and bad? Curator: Precisely. And perhaps the artist suggests that guardians are themselves marked by what they safeguard. What do you make of the almost vacant stare, gazing into a lower space, below? Editor: I guess I hadn't really considered it that way. Seeing it as history painting with Neo-Expressionist style offers new perspective! Thanks for your view on this art. Curator: My pleasure. I enjoyed contemplating how this artwork balances tradition with visceral expression, inviting us to engage with its profound symbolism.