About me - From a pen of Art Critic - Dusan Djokic

Nada Denić – Lost – Nest Lust

 

Nada Denić' s sculpture works can be followed and compared to all the 1980-ies Yugoslav sculpture happening. Then either prominent and worthy festivals or specialized workshops-colonies out of which some (the biggest ones) reached the utmost expression in the last decade and influenced the changed plastic expression world in many ways by putting in new conceptions, new materials, as well as the space expansions challenges. In the concept happening a unique soil return, a clay process return of a special importance happened numerous important and less important works saw the daylight nearly at the same time, at various places especially in the Kikinda Terra Complex thanks to the energetic Kojić and the young Zemun Trag colony.  That return to clay, an ancient and plastic adaptable material pretty influenced the plastic conception, the little despised "school" modeling, the new expression kind, and finally new themes often defined and marginalized in the supreme dominant Modernism idea period, and linear progression art obsession.

From the very beginning Nada Denić's interest was that linked with classical sculpture definition, just the one deprived everything unnecessary, deeply touched to the material nature. Out of the figure set motives in stone her form world defined gradually in an abstract associative sphere, mainly in that bringing a full volume.  So by turning to the clay work and complex form terra-cotta line the problem complexity and sculpture notion (in a wider context, especially in milien groups) has happened.

That turn basic characteristics could be defined laconically as a step out of a concrete developed form towards thing-object with a complex iconography and stressed plastic rhetoric. That is why the Flock and Nest cycluses have all the symbolic character complexity of strong contrasts and uncovered biomorphic signs joined to tectonic and jagged clearly differentiated masses. Those sculptural joints are given to the round, sensual, and erotic sensuality filed with forms, prolific nests and the other, however with sharp and conic, aggressive forms directed upside. But no matter whether we speak about the single composition structures or in space freely set form groups the strict construction principle was taken as a common denominator of the cyclus. In addition we have the stronger or weaker facture articulation, the artist's hand trace in such a balanced and simplicity characterizing more the schematic and spontaneous work phase, without caring much for the final work perfection. In that why the complete expressiveness would keep too much of an elementary, primordial strength typical for the culture dawn objects, especially those European in the Danube basin. The used material was respected to the end. Some forms bear the others by a special logic and are transformed with which the initial brought down form was stepped across.

Between the possible and short-term Eros and ominous Tanatos sculpture appears as a working field of possible anxieties putting questions, and some signs and traces to the future. In that a little bit blossomed and intentionally unsharped playing with forms like gathering strength which will lead this anyway respectable, adventure towards  those ways of forming which fully manifest the sculptor Nada Denić's tempers.

                                                                                                                        Dušan Đokić