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The King Of Dust
The adherence to figurative and portrait presentations of Ivona Pleskonja (1974) has recently become evident once again in her exhibition The Source at the Belgrade National Gallery. She makes monumental portraits and self-portraits, using acrylic and coal on canvas and paper, to talk about little-big people, the greatness of human beings, emancipation, fears and ways of overcoming them…
The portraits, reduced in colour and representatively framed on canvas, demonstrate urban iconographic artistry of Ivona’s works in much the same manner as the works from her previous exhibition Heroes, held last March in Beograd Gallery in Kosančićev Venac Street, did.
I stick to figuration simply because abstract art isn’t close to my heart. I’ve always wanted to make human portraits and also wanted the observer to interpret my messages in his or her own way. This exhibition shows that the focus my artistic search is on the origins of the man, his nature, his essence, ways of gaining knowledge which also explains the title although at first I didn’t have a very clear idea whether to give the exhibition any name at all. Wanting to be in harmony with my own self, and while figuring out what it was I wanted to do, I came up with this particular name. Originally, I wanted to name the exhibition the Pharaohs, says Ivona because a young Romany boy from Belgrade streets, and one of Ivona’s models who figures prominently on her canvases, such as Earth-Born King, Cleaner and New World King, has reminded her of a pharaoh.
His relaxed manner and calm which he emanates, his life as a street dust- cleaner, produced a very strong motive for this particular piece of work. My idea was to show that all people can be impressive and important and that we all have halos over our heads, and are all blessed and God-given, explains the artist.
Ivona Pleskonja belongs to the generation of young and ambitious artists. She has received acclaim for her works at exhibitions such as the October Salon and the Vršac Youth Biennale (1998). As a student, she won several awards from the FLU (Faculty of Fine Arts) fund for the best study and drawing, and another award for the best photography from the BC processor fund. In her quest for answers regarding identity, Ivona also cultivates self-portrait, the area of work which she compares to a two-blade sword.
The need to make self-portraits seems at times like a hermetic, mesmerized circle but it may also be an egocentric phase that I thing I am gradually leaving now. It is good to find inspiration in one’s intimate, personal life, but art must not be totally hermetic. Intimacy should be used to breed something universal, explain Ivona Pleskonja.
Analysts of Ivona’s art are inclined to compare her works with the contemporary computerized collages although she herself denies having a penchant for the comic strip or computer art. The reduced colouring reflects Ivona’s need to show what the world looks like today. “Should beings from other planets wish to see what the Earthlings are like, I would present them my paintings”, says Ivona.
Ivona Pleskonja studied under Anđelka Bojović, the painter and pedagogue, whose advice, guidance and appraisal she continues to receive and appreciate.
Marija Đorđević, journalist of Cultural column in journal 'Politika'
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