DRAGAN ŠIJAČKI / SHAPES BENEATH THE SURFACE

Dragan Šijački’s new cycle of works could be characterized as a geometric abstraction that does not actually exist. The painting of pure monochromatic square or rectangular canvases enables the artist to intervene under the canvas. Wire structures shape the canvas and the spatial lines and forms, thus transforming the two-dimensional geometric shapes into three-dimensional images.

Each piece can stand alone or be a part of a larger composition. The works adapt to the space, creating dynamic compositions of a unique rhythm. The simplicity and purity of forms open up countless possibilities to compose the module, while different formats and the monochromatic black, red and white canvas contribute to a variety of rhythms and dynamics within the composition.

The system of horizontal and vertical lines is enriched with spatial curves that introduce the natural order into the geometric perfection. The uniformity of the painted surface of the canvas is eliminated by shapes that subtly and unpredictably emerge from the surface. Sometimes it is a straight spatial line that divides the canvas into two or four parts, while the forces of shapes occasionally create additional tensions inside the canvas, moving in opposite directions and focusing on one or more corners of the canvas.
The three-dimensional lines and shapes are further highlighted by the fading of light. Spatial lines cancel out the regularity of the original canvas format out of the contours of the correct geometric shapes. This penetrating into space results in the formation of a silent vibrato on these, otherwise flat, planar planes. Light becomes an integral part of building structures and rhythm within works and the composition of works.

In the field of purified and minimalistic geometric abstractions built on achromatic premises with intermittent accents of red, Šijački’s rigid geometric order counteracts the natural spontaneity of broken and curved lines. The unusual movements inside the canvas, the indication of forms hidden beneath the surface, the tension, close to breaking the canvas are the basic elements of this unique cycle that rests on their own laws.

Dragan Šijački, with his seemingly extremely simple and minimalistic works with latent shapes and powerful internal dynamics of hidden motion, encourages the observer to explore that which is hidden in both the subtle and intriguing energy as well as inside themselves.

Sonja Švec Španjol, mag.hist.art.