Milena Dragicevic

Supplicant 408,  2009, oil on linen, 61 x 56,5 cm

Supplicant 77,  2008, oil on linen, 61 x 51 cm

About the Artist

Although the artist has worked with variations of titles and themes in the past, Supplicants is the first series which rigorously adheres to a concept. All works – the format, at 61 x 56.5 cm or 61 x 51 cm, is also predetermined – are representations of the human head, usually of friends or acquaintances, altered with small interventions. Milena Dragicevic covers the faces with geometric shapes or changes the physiognomy. She emphasizes that these are not psychological studies of the individuals who are portrayed: “The paintings are not about the models, they are ‘stand-ins’ for something else.” The title also makes reference to this aspect: supplicant means petitioner or beadsman.

Artist Satement

“I see a lot of my work as a resurrection of sorts, not for sentimental or nostalgic reasons, but for survival reasons. There is so much building that exists in my process that the works can only be thought of as something for the future. The images I paint, the faces, the sculptures are like ‘stand-ins’ for something else. They are ‘stand-ins’ that in a way pay homage to a lost world or one that exists in a different realm. The Supplicants and the sculpture paintings are like lost artifacts or ones waiting to be discovered.”   (artnews.org)

Milena Dragicevic Interview

Current Show (2011) at Martina Janda