https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/dragoslav-krnajski-2/
CONTEMPORARY ART MAGAZINE SINCE 1980
Dragoslav Krnajski
• BY IVONA FREGL
• 11 MAY 2018
• FOCUS
https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/dragoslav-krnajski-2/
Krnajskistartedhisengagementintheinstitutionsofthesystemin1998 –hewaselectedpresidentof ULUS and works on the expansion, systematization and legalization of free-lanced artists rights and improvementoftheirlegalstatus.
Intheperiod2000–10,Krnajskihadtwosoloexhibitionsonwhichhepresentedtheartworksmadein artcoloniesneartheglassandpaperfactories(BelgradeCulturalCentergallery)andtheartworksthat directlyorindirectlyrelatedtohisengagementinculturalinstitutions(theexhibition Houses for Fireflies, BlockGallery).
AlthoughtheinterestinthemotionofanobjectinspacedatesbacktotheverybeginningsofDragoslav Krnajski’s artistic creativity, it has been only during the last years that mobiles and their specific interactionwithboththespaceandtheobserverbecomethefocusofthisartist’sresearch.
Krnajski’smobilesareelegant,reduced,sophisticatedsculpturesofmetalwithacentralaxisofrotation, purified geometric shapes and a reduced colour that corresponds to the natural colouration of the material–stainlesssteelandcopper.Likemostofhisartworks,Krnajskicreates mobiles bytherepetition
https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/dragoslav-krnajski-2/
ofthesameelements–modules,inthiscase,coppersheetsthatenduphalf-circularlyfromthebottom, recallingthefishscaleorfinefeathers;steelbarsandwiresshapethecompositionframeand/orskeleton thatcarriesthecoppermodules.Thebasicformofhismobilesisgeometric,2D–thearc/segmentofthe circle(Sail),asquareplacedalongadiagonalaxis(Lighthouse).Besidestheairflowwhichinducestriple motion(themovementoftheprimary,2Dcomposition,movementofitssegmentsandthemovementof themodulesinthespace),aconsiderableroleinthechangingappearanceofthemobilityalsohasthelight that,asthedaygoesby,reflectsdifferentlyonthesurfacesofdifferentsizescoveredwithcoppersheets. DragoslavKrnajskidoesnottameforcesofnature,thesunandthewind,butheplaysbyintroducinginto hissculpturesnaturalfactorsthatcannotbecontrolled;hisartistictaskistoachievethevisualharmony oftheunitandprovokethe experience withintheobserver.Byintroducingthemotion,asoneofthebasic parametersoflife,heemphasizesthedifferencebetweenthelivingandtheinanimate.Likeotherofhis artworks set in spatialurban cores, Krnajski’s mobiles becomesolid visual references forthe time and placetheywerecreated.
ForDragoslavKrnajski,artisticcreatingrepresentsamindgamethatdoesnotstopuponthesculpture realization,butcontinuesduringtheartworkplacementinthespace(ordifferentspaces),bychoosing thedesiredrelationshipwithotherartworksand/orspaceelements,bymonitoringits life intheworld amongtheaudience–byconsidering therelationsbetweentheartworkanditssurroundings,themanner inwhichtheartworkinfluencesthechangeofsurroundingsandthewayinwhichtheaudienceperceives thesechanges.
Ivona Freglhttps://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/dragoslav-krnajski-2/
DragoslavKrnajski, Copper Sign,1997,courtesyofFBCMajdanpek,Serbia
https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/dragoslav-krnajski-2/
DragoslavKrnajski, Moby Dick,1997(destroyed),phcourtesytheartist
DragoslavKrnajski, Under the Glass,2002,courtesyofBelgradeCityMuseum,Serbia
https://www.juliet-artmagazine.com/en/dragoslav-krnajski-2/
Ivona FreglGraduatedArthistoryattheUniversityofBelgrade,FacultyofPhilosophy.Formercuratoranda memberofinLucidaGalleryartcouncil.Oneofthefoundersanddirectoroftheassociationforthe developmentandpromotionofcontemporaryvisualartsART-ZOOM.LivesinBelgrade,Serbia.
