Vladimir was born in 1994 in Šabac, Serbia. He has a PhD in Fine Arts from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Fine Arts. He has exhibited throughout Serbia, Poland, Croatia and Germany. He has seen great success with many of his artworks going to dedicated collectors in Los Angeles, Paris and Belgrade.
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be and why?
My choice would probably be Pink Panther. I remember watching the series as a kid, and he would always eat all kinds of food, with good music in the background.
What’s your go-to guilty pleasure song or artist that you secretly love?
When it comes to music and art there is no guilty pleasure in that since. In terms of music and art I'm very transparent. Effortless art is usually unremarkable. Eyes and ears easily recognize that.
If you could live in any time period, past or future, when would it be?
We can only assume how things actually were. 60s, 70s and 80s seem to be a lot of fun, also period between two World wars was very interesting globally. But I would love to see absolutely every period that is behind us. I think that I would be shocked and amazed. Ancient times especially.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten, and would you try it again?
I will answer with one word only: škembići.
If you suddenly became a superhero, what would your superpower and superhero name be?
Immortality. So I could have enough time to paint everything I have on my mind at this moment. Also, when luck is on my side in life, sometimes it feels like a superpower. With luck, happiness and satisfaction come automatically. It would be nice to always be lucky for a change, no matter what. So something stupid like Lucky-Vlad would be the name I guess.
What’s the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery tomorrow?
Add drastically more square meters to my studio.
What’s a hobby or skill you’ve always wanted to pick up but never have?
I really don't have time for new hobbies, I still love to read a good comic, watch movies and cartoons, but if there was no painting in my life I would probably work on my boxing skills considering how many hours I’ve spent watching it. I still watch all boxing and MMA events with the same passion and it still reflects on my paintings.
If you could master any artistic skill overnight, what would it be?
Overnight? That would be a nightmare. I learned to respect and enjoy the process.
Dreams & Adventures
What’s your dream travel destination, and what would you do there?
Any small coastal Greek or Italian village. Beside location, not much would change, just a few more sunny hours.
If you could swap lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and what would you do?
Maybe with somebody who is the closest to myself. Just to have a clear picture on what is like to live with me, and what kind of a person I really am.
Can you tell us about your journey as an artist? What inspired you to start creating art?
Before my actual and adecvate artistic education started, my first love were comics. Many years later, following the example or Roy Lichtenstein and Erro, I created a comic-themed concept as well. Of course, the real direction happened during my studies, where I started very early with an experimental approach to creative process and conquering the large format canvases. I think that since I was a kid, I instinctively sticked to that urge inside me to create something and I didn't let it go through growing up and maturing. That urge is present constantly, I stopped question it long time ago. Now, it is a job that sometimes involves working in three shifts.
Who or what are your biggest influences, and how do they shape your work?
Because my work can be described as figurative art, my first influences were painters from "The School of London'' movement such as Francis Bacon, Michael Andrews, Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud.. Maybe the biggest influence was Willem de Kooning especially his 70s era. Latter, Gerhard Richter and Neo Rauch, but many others.. Nowadays inspiration is everywhere, for the most part outside of painting.. Movies, Photography, History, philosophy and psihology, boxing and zoology.. I'm also able to find inspiration in my previous works, wich is probably a good sign.
Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you approach starting a new piece?
When we talk about visual art of today, painting particularly, the term concept should be closer to the goal and idea itself. Instead, there is an impression that the word concept today implies a kind of crude repetition and fabrication of an idea or motive, all in the service of recognition. In that way , artist's entire oeuvre is strictly commercial from the very beginning. Creating freely, I refuse to become the producer of just one concept, motive or palette in the service of recognition, I want my concept to be completely liberated and, above all, to be a play within the artistry. That's why I try to insert something new into each of my next paintings, something I've never
painted before. I try to make my work richer for an unknown experience. I'm not a painter of just one concept; it has never created in me a fear of losing the recognizability of my work.
Do you have any rituals or habits that help you stay inspired and productive?
I'm not a ritual guy. But routine is a big part of my everyday work and is necessary if you want to be a full time artist . Also, I like to stay in good shape so I work out from time to time, so I can stand for many hours, and that bending over and climbing on scaffolding all day doesn't tire me out. But the most important thing is to constantly educate and inform yourself. Exploring certain topics, losing your mind in literature, and having habit to doubt and do a research over and over again, those are the things that truly make difference and can make artist more productive.
How would you describe your artistic style, and how has it evolved over time?
The society's need, the audience and the artists themselves to precisely define one's art expression without considering it as part of the artist's whole, creates the impression that the explanation of the work is more important or at least as important as the work itself. I think that words do not have the capacity to compete with the experience and emotion emitted by fine art. The experience of words is still the domain of poetry and literature. I believe that all fine art can be characterized as abstract. The starting point of every idea is thought, and no matter how clear it is, thought remains an abstract form, in fact, thought is the most abstract form known to man. The value of an artist's work defines the capacity to which he will turn his thought into his work. The style of my expression has all the artistic characteristics that figuration implies. However, I introduce elements of abstract expressionism into the space of the painting. In order to reconcile all theoretical terms and my artistic attitude, I call this new form "Amorphous figuration".
What message or emotion do you aim to convey through your art?
I think such tendencies in painting are a trap, because the artist is in great danger of his work becoming banal. I strive for my compositions to be complex, to intrigue the viewer and to provoke them into dialogue. In addition to all the theories, whatever period we look back on, if we are talking about art objectively and honestly, it still functions as a reaction which happens in the first sight of the observer. I like it or I don't like it. Then we try to explain to ourselves why we like something or dislike. From the moment my painting leaves the studio, I am only its creator, I have no control over it. As artists, we shouldn't be sensitive to the opinions of others. We can't even depend on good reviews. I don't want to impose my opinion and attitude on public. They will certainly drawn their own conclusions.
What has been the most challenging project you’ve worked on, and what did you learn from it?
As mentioned earlier, I try to insert something new into all my works, so it's always challenging. That unknown experience always makes thing more interesting and creates more space for progress. So I can say I learn something new with each painting. Currently I started working on big project with my gallerist and it could easily become the most demanding project so far.
What accomplishment or piece are you most proud of, and why?
I am always fulfilled but never completely satisfied. I believe the latest concept is the most representative, but probably only until new one is done. But being able to make a living of my art despite being young man is accomplishment that I am truly grateful for and it makes me more humble than I usually am.
How do you see your art fitting into the broader art world or contemporary culture?
I don't really know. And can’t say I actually care so much about it. I want to be a witness of my time through my painting. My visual expression could not be put in the past. The far future will probably bring new styles and ideas. So It feels good being right here, creating images this way and while looking back it’s good to notice that my style is changing and evolving.
What role do you think art plays in society, and how do you see yourself contributing to that?
When it comes to art from public point of view, I think that expectations are unrealistic. All the time we can hear that stupid phrase that Art can change the world. That's not true nor it is possible. But art can do something almost equally impressive. Art can change an individual. That is more than enough. All we can do, especially in art, is to leave an example. An example of how something is understood or experienced, how something can be painted, sculpted, filmed or installed in space. There is a responsibility, because maybe my example will manage to influence some next individual.