Uloga 2016

Curator: Let's take a look at Dragan Ilić Di Vogo's 2016 piece, “Uloga.” Di Vogo works with acrylic on canvas, offering us an enigmatic portrait in a space between realism and something more… dreamlike, maybe? Editor: Dreamlike, definitely. The overall sensation is one of intense inner scrutiny mixed with…dissolution. It's a figure losing herself in a swirl of thought, or perhaps the reverse: finding herself. Curator: I see the dissolving quality you mention. What is compelling to me is how the figure is grounded through precise details - the expression in her eyes, or the realism of her skin against what I'll call abstract, gestural brushwork surrounding her. Do you perceive the foregrounded items to the lower left and right as relating to realism as well, and if so, how might they alter the mood of this canvas? Editor: Ah, those carefully rendered geometric solids! To my eye, the die in particular provides a potent grounding force and symbolic counterweight. The sphere is somewhat melancholic; like the painting at large, it lacks orientation. Overall, these items and how they frame the space suggest the push-and-pull between logic, chance, and fate within the figure's life and imagination. The dice and sphere almost exist in opposition in terms of materiality and symbolic importance. What's the role, the "Uloga," as it is referenced in the title, being debated, do you think? Curator: The 'role' aspect resonates, especially looking at the way the features of the subject are rendered with photographic precision. The cube becomes representative of society's many facets in the subject's position, each blue-and-white checker suggesting constraints the subject faces within her social standing. I sense an emotional story that stems from feeling out-of-sync in some regards, and thus being the subject of one's destiny, for it has already been decided. How do you think this sentiment might contribute to the use of intimacy and surrealism being portrayed in "Uloga"? Editor: Intimacy in surrealism makes so much sense! Like looking into a cherished friend's dreamscape. The composition emphasizes those telling glances. The brushwork that moves in the face's negative spaces creates motion to amplify what can only be perceived within intimate contact. As the details melt into the scene at large, so do you begin to feel the inner battle being portrayed within "Uloga", Di Vogo's masterful painting technique further draws in the audience to a perspective of empathy, I'd imagine! Curator: That emotional empathy is a solid place to linger in appreciation for the work, regardless of where one comes from!