M. Night Shyamalan’s village?
Dark, grim pieces characterize survey of Eastern European art world
Stacey Abramson

Ken Segal Gallery’s latest exhibit is a conceptual move for the commercial gallery, and the theme of a boundary-free art world provides a nice selection of pieces from around the world.

The Global Village features 10 artists from Serbia and Montenegro and Eastern Europe, and the works are stylistically connected by the global-village concept of cultural guru Marshall McLuhan. The exhibition is curated by Segal and Momir Knezevic, whose work is also featured in the show.

The few mixed-media pieces in the show are some of its most gloomy and impressive. Snezana Grodanonvic’s monster-like dark collages are the most gothic works in the exhibition. The abstract forms of jagged teeth, black spaces and minimal planes speak of a very dark and upsetting place.

Similarly, Nebojsa Jocic’s scratches and greyness give a glimpse into this gloomy place in which so many of the artists are surviving. Jocic’s untitled pieces covered in stucco-like materials and graphite appear to reference a barrier of sorts.

Bojan Otasevic’s bold lines and colour palette are striking. The simple outlines that make up the portraits read like a strange mix of graffiti and horror movies. Slightly gothic in nature, Otasevic’s pieces depict faces that are sullen and without hope, and titles such as Cursed and View in Empty further drive home the message. The shadows and colour are a simple yet smart contrast to illustrate the sadness he’s demonstrating.

It’s interesting to see how some contemporary European movements have seeped into the output of Zarko Vuckovic. His work harkens back to the Dada movement of Europe of the early 20th century. Composed of collage, scribbles and blotches, Vuckovic’s pieces are characterized by a chaotic yet sparse and attention-grabbing technique.

The overall dark nature of the works is what brings many of the artists in context. Standing out from the crowd is Slobodan Jelesijevic and his light pastel watercolours. His Diary pieces are bubbly and fun, recalling summertime vacations and childhood drawings.

Many of the abstract works fade into the background when compared with the stronger pieces in the exhibition. For example, Zoran Todor’s figurative sketches are stark standouts. The black-and-white images have a frightening edge to them, requiring viewers to take a good look at each and every piece.

The Global Village is proof that public perception of commercial galleries is changing. Unlike public and artist-run centres, commercial galleries are self-sufficient, making money from art sales. Segal is attempting to break the barriers of this stigma by bringing in some interesting collections.

The Global Village is exactly that. This show is designed to show that art knows no boundaries and, while that may not necessarily be what gallery-goers will get out of it, it does offer a glimpse at what’s happening on canvasses around the globe.