Not for Profit nor Fame

Darija Radakovic’s work looks simple, but it takes aim at difficult political realities.

by

Darija Radakovic, a Calgary-based artist born and raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina, combines vivid visuals using ready-made objects juxtaposed with blocks of pithy text.

Her exhibition, Not for Profit nor Fame, at the Herringer Kiss Gallery in Calgary until Feb. 13, includes pieces made in the 11 years since she immigrated to Canada. 

The genius of Radakovic’s work stems from layered interpretations that reflect her interest in the avant-garde, her life in a war-ravaged country, and her move to Canada in 2010.

In the midst of a brutal war in the former Yugoslavia, Radakovic relocated to Belgrade to complete a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Fine Arts. Through her study of avant-garde artists like Kazimir Malevich, Joseph Beuys and Marcel Duchamp, she discovered a way to freely express her playfully eloquent voice.

At first sight, her works seem quite minimal, but they’re loaded with social and political commentary, controversial symbols and poetic juxtapositions that provoke a mixture of laughter, shock and deeper contemplation. Her work confronts difficult subjects but disarms viewers by using familiar objects that are not usually linked to violence or extreme views.

For example, Ordinary Tool is an arrangement of saws, both old and new, arranged to suggest a swastika. The shape of the saws evokes guns. It’s a subtle yet profoundly moving image that encompasses so many complicated thoughts and ideologies that its compositional simplicity is surprising. Four saws, intelligently assembled, speak profoundly to histories of oppression, war and tyranny. 

Other works in the show reiterate that war is not our friend. A shovel is connected to a skipping rope, an oblique reference to the injuries and deaths of children from landmines, while text pieces with phrases like “time is cheap” or “reminding is a microaggression” evoke conflicts within capitalism.

These are trying times. Against the recent background of violent insurrection at the American Capitol, Radakovic’s work acts not only as a commentary, but also as a warning. Be vigilant. Pay attention. Defend your democracy.

Another work, Lean Chair, is striking for its contradictions. A beautiful object that illuminates the space, it is also constrained and rather prickly. It refers to a work by Beuys, Fat Chair – a simple wooden chair with a hunk of fat placed on its seat.  Beuys never intended the work to evoke aesthetic pleasure. He viewed his art as a social mission to help heal post-war German society. I feel the same way about Radakovic’s work. There’s a message here that we all need to hear. Do we side with tyranny or do we hold firm to democracy?

Political messages aside, Radakovic also plays with ideas about being an artist and how everyday objects can be both poetic and meaningful. She is clever. In Malevich’s Room, we are confronted with Ikea frames slightly altered with enamel paint in an abstract and constructionist way. Her aesthetic is very Malevichian, but the field of play is very contemporary. She is paying homage to an artist who understood the dangers of power and politics and reinvigorating this message with familiar objects.

This exhibition is worthy of much praise. It’s evocative and aesthetically pleasing, and it tells a story about the perils of tyranny without punching us in the face. Radakovic speaks from experience and I, for one, am listening. ■ 

Not for Profit nor Fame at the Herringer Kiss Gallery in Calgary from Jan. 9 to Feb. 13, 2021.

PS: Worried you missed something? See previous Galleries West stories here or sign up for our free biweekly newsletter.

Herringer Kiss Gallery logo

Herringer Kiss Gallery

101-1615 10 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T3C 0J7

403-228-4889

please enable javascript to view

Visit Website

Tues to Sat 11 am - 5 pm