Written by Michelle O’Malley

Copy Edited by Hillary Mitchell

In an attempt to dampen our fears of inadequacy, we want to reassure ourselves by saying things like “we all have to start somewhere”. It's safe to say that we all face the pressures of achievement at some points in our lives, but even more so do the brave individuals who deem themselves ‘artists’. Curator Branka Stipančić dissects this artistic phenomenon of ”we all have to start somewhere” through the display of her exhibition From Scratch, featuring works of minimalist artists such as Mangelos, Julije Knifer, Július Koller, Goran Trbuljak, and Mladen Stilinović.

Mangelos (1921-1987) encouraged viewers to “start from the beginning” when it comes to perceiving art, which he then related back to primary school educations’ instruction of learning the alphabet before taking the leap to reading. Throughout his works, Mangelos used letters of Greek, Latin, Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets as a means of momentarily bringing focus away from the paint itself while simultaneously adjusting the focus away from the words by using paint to portray them. In doing so, he emphasized the vitality of the senses as opposed to emotions when it comes to the observation of art. In its most raw form, art activates humans’ primitive sensory functions.

Peter Freeman, Inc., New York.From Scratch: Mangelos, Julije Knifer, Július Koller, MladenStilinović & Goran Trbuljak, curated by Branka Stipančić(3 March–16 April 2022)
Image courtesy of Peter Freeman, Inc

Another artist who utilized alphabetical letters was Július Koller (1939-2007). Wasting no time in “beating around the bush”, he simply placed question-marks all throughout his works, as if to get right to the point in terms of meaning behind his work. Living in Czechoslovakia during the reign of the Soviet Union, Koller reflected his uncertainty towards his country’s rejection of artistic freedoms through his use of letters and symbols in a form of ‘anti-painting’. Through his use of question marks, Koller revealed that at the root of art is the human notion of questioning; society, systems of thinking, or really just the world in general.

Julije Knifer (1924-2004) similarly explored this idea of breaking down art to its “essential elements”. As is displayed in POLIPTIH 1 - 4, his signature mark became black-and-white vertical lines, referred to as “meander” By highlighting the seemingly less important basic elements of art, Knifer questioned the significance of paintings, wondering why only the “finished works” are placed on pedestals while in reality the masterpieces wouldn’t be possible to create without basic, un-glamorous elements.

In An Artist’s Exercises, Goran Trbuljak (1948) uses the repetition of dots and straight parallel lines to toy with the societal idea of artists needing to “pass a test” in order to create their works. This being said, the mantra, “practice makes perfect” comes to mind and we are forced to take a step back and reevaluate the essence of art. Are works only considered art if there is a linearity to it and if so why? Through his ironic work, Trbuljak brings forward this question as to when will a ‘practicing artist’ ever be fully prepared to create what is deemed a masterpiece?

Mladen Stilinović (1947- 2016) also displayed repetition in conjunction with the academic exercise backdrop. The word ‘pain’ is placed repeatedly throughout a dictionary page. ‘Pain’ is placed next to every word presented on the page so that pain is deemed both inevitable and universal. No one can run from it, even the most powerful.

Mangelos, Julie Knifer, Július Koller, Goran Trbuljak, and Mladen Stilinović’s works may appear simple in composition, but their underlying meanings run deep in their clever deconstruction of art and society, reminding us all that we have to start somewhere, but not how or where others expect you to.

From Scratch will be on display at the Peter Freeman Gallery from March 3rd through April 16, 2022.

Sources

https://www.galleriesnow.net/shows/from-scratch/

https://www.peterfreemaninc.com/exhibitions/from-scratch?view=slider#3