A grain of salt in the cathedral of spirit

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Review by Stanko Spoljaric, art critic:

An intriguing title of the exhibit points out its layerness, a literary note in the core of the initial concept. Stjepan Djukic Pista in his earliest artistic accomplishments often thought about the art piece through the synthesis of fine art and the content’s message, brought upon by the interesting iconography. He wasn’t aspiring towards the labyrinth of the enigmatic , rather, finding the inner richness of motives in the simplicity of the "stories", the driving force which gave the historic dimension to the daily characters. The title of this exhibition also contains a hidden idea of the general within the individual, of the events that go beyond the defined short lifetime. Djukic is always preoccupied with the flow of time, the energy contained within days and years, recognizing in this series a harmony of continuity, but as well as the conflicts which disrupt the existence balance. In his previous series, Djukic chained the figurative with the abstract (with stripes that had a geometric foretoken) which are literally, and also in the symbolic way, the signpost of grading the life rebus. In the latest genealogy of his latest series, Djukic opens and closes the circle of situations and states which an individual or a group of people go through in borrowed spaces, in the standards of the monumental and customary as the tags of identity. A display of a specific event is linked with the main part and the core of the whole and is also a component of the life polyptych , which by the artistic imagination receives a metaphysical note. Stjepan Djukic Pista converts the experience and knowledge impulses in encounters of adventures and events, portraying how the initial symbolism of the grain of salt grows into the spiritual splendour. That which is banal in its illusion has aspects of wider visuals, it is a housing of related, calmness in the torrent, a flicker in the stops. In other words, every scene has its own self-sufficiency and every accent is an echo of artistic observation. In various variations, Djukic brilliantly reacts to all changes in the life’s focal points, youth, maturity and years worthy of every respect. In example, the ethnographic, architectural heritage truly exists in Djukic’s pictures, within historical individuals and contemporaries (portrayed with portrait-like precision), in the steps and set-ups of dances (a choreography affirmed by professional ensembles, in the caste presence, and the landscape topography). Djukic as the first-class portrait maker, in showcasing individuals known to him, but unknown to us, brought in the “zagorje session” the personas which in the past but as well as the present left their mark in this dear space. Even Oton Ivekovic , the great Croatian painter that lived between the 19th and 20th century, known for a long range of pictures representing Croatian history, is linked with his life to the castle Veliki Tabor . Alongside of him, there are PhD Antun Presecki , a man that did a lot of great things for the region through various activities, and Ziga Popijac , a peculiar sculptor of outstanding virtuosity, which transfers the authenticity of expressions of folk tradition, that are just a part of the character gallery. The small stories raise the dramatic temperature of expression on every location. Djukic isn’t just a neutral watcher, rather, by using emotional threads, almost becomes a participant of the expression with activity in the total motive matter, visible in the presence of spaciousness of images, sewn into the vitality dialect, Djukic’s need for work as the regeneration corridor. On the artistic side, just the stylistic consistency ensures for that to happen.

Its already a long time ago that Djukic developed his handwriting, his figurative vision, implemented by the original character of form, the volumetric and sketch bodywork crafted by the correlation of the realistic description and stylization, enriched with typical graphisms which are characteristic to him. Sometimes Djukic releases himself to the expressionistic openness, but also returns to his sense of form with a palette of coloristic echo which resonates from a scream to the sfumaturic tenderness. Nevertheless, the dominant chromatic values rarely reach the extremes, because Djukic took care of the colour without aggression and “missing” the tone. By outlining the form, he defines coloristic arrays of characters, which are in tune with the space’s palette, very often made deeper by the diffusion of light. Making a rhythm with colours, like a lifeblood vein, matches the biorhythm of composition, or more specifically, the layout which is suggested by the content layer of the display. Djukic never falls into layout schemes, his picture organism lives with inner motive charges. In the plans fractions exist relationship turnarounds in a narrower sense and the orchestration of the whole. Djukic lucidly, by the logic of a specific image, shifts the “anecdote” towards the oasis of incidents and the space dynamics, as well as the test of time, comes in the focal point of interest. The rule is that there isn’t no rule. Djukic always remains himself, but seeks and finds different climaxes in avoiding effects of scenography by being interested in what is contained within an object, as well as the body and the drapery. In the order and chaos of forms a horizon line is hinted, a line which is even more than just a line. Even undescribed, it exists. As a metaphor, spreading across images and outside of their borders.

The created impression is the trump card for the associative, multi-meaning under the veil of fantasy. In the raster of portrayals, the vision of the horizontal is a nucleus of intrigue, since the included likable fables have the other side as well – encouraging the viewer to move away from the picture close-up, because the fine lines contained overcome him. For Djukic, the screenplay with all the sequences is indispensable. But as the first step only. Beginning from the firm standing on the ground, he was transformed into a dreamer. The narration didn’t lose its facts, even its pungency, but the yearning for the view from above “infiltrated” the “gravity” of the picture. Djukic’s reaction was the only one possible. Zagorje is the space that engrossed him and took over him. Any by using art, he thanked for its hospitality in turn. The life particles, brought into the artistic expressions, give at least the small portion of the halo. Because, even though slightly, humanly sincere, it belongs to the cathedral of spirit.

Stjepan Djukic Pista, with an undisputed creativity, created an exhibit of a homeland theme, woven with lot of love and fervour, into an art of beauty, enveloped with a nice atmosphere of happiness and nostalgia.