It is fair to say that since my childhood art has been my direction and an integral part of my life. I was brought up in a very artistic family and I felt the power of art from a very young age. At around seven years old my aim was to draw as well as my dad. I practiced my skills all the time. I was a winner of the Children’s Drawing Competition on the Environment. I received an award plaque and was congratulated by the local artists and the environment organization staff. Through my ‘mushrooms’ drawing, I wanted to express to other children that we are so fortunate to have a plenty of food and take it for granted, while there are so many in the world who are starving. It was more than obvious that art career perfectly suited my personality.
I graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, where I earned both, my BFA and MFA degrees in Mural Painting. I pursued my Ph.D at the Academy of Art in Belgrade, where I live and work. I won an EFG Grant for Best Serbian Students as well as the Ministry of Education and Science Scholarship. Being an honors student helped me to cultivate my willingness to take the initiative and seek out new experiences.
I have been active as an artist and have had numerous exhibitions in Serbia, across Europe, Asia and America. I attended International art festivals, residency programs, conferences and workshops which have helped me get involved in different projects and network. As a member of ArtAngels – San Francisco, Center for Youth Creativity of Serbia and Association of Fine Artists of Serbia, I wish to demonstrate ways in which we could collaborate in a project larger than any one of us could do alone and keep developing together.
For me art is like a specialized language of expression, understood through all the senses. It invites you to listen with your eyes, look with your hands, and feel with your mind. I suppose one of my main preoccupations is imagery as a free-flowing thing, how images can be manipulated and their meanings can change. Creating gave me a chance of expression, to manipulate and tease my subjects, content and the l anguage of images. My art speak to us about the world we live in — world where politics, sex and religion collide, the unifying force of nature versus
the destructive human force. I toy with the idea of being a modern master of vibrance and expression in a world given over to cheap thrills, fast consumption and destruction. Beside painting, I also do netart, animation, art installations and all kind of multimedia art projects. In some of my latest projects, I explored a metamorphosis in the daily life of the disabled, using images of disability to make everyone think twice about the beauty and perfection which makes disability beautiful (cooperation with California State University, Northridge). I also examine gender and sexuality in culture and art, as wel l as contemporary issues of inequality affecting sexual minorities in our society and global contexts (cooperation with Cuntemporary London).
Art fuels my curiosity. I love having a project to focus on at all times, to give me focus a nd goals and to inject me newer ideas into and experiment. I started with the idea to create art workshops for children who could benefit from my art skills and reach out to them in a more creative way. I lead art workshops at Art+789, Beijing, China. I also developed an artist network and designed international art program to bring talented artists, creative practitioners, researchers and writers from around the world to experience a unique cultural environment dedicated to art in Belgrade, Belgrade Art Studio Residency.
For more information, visit www.baxxart.com www.belgradeartstudio.com