Prisma Art Prize | Veljko Vučković

Veljko Vučković: “Even though I mostly rely on the alla prima method, I often come back to each painting once or several times, which is why I paint several of them at the same time.”

by Marco Crispano

How and why did you start your artistic career?

First of all, I come from a family with a deep interest in art, so I was surrounded by its diversity from an early age. Needless to say, I was immediately fascinated by these images. One of my earliest vivid memories is flipping through books on modern art. Although I didn’t always feel the desire to express myself artistically, I was still intrigued by the works of some of the artists I admired. It wasn’t until I decided to enroll in art school that I fully committed to the goal of becoming an artist. Today, I’d say it’s a job like any other.

How did you discover your medium and why did you choose it?

Essentially, I have been painting with oil colors since I was first introduced to them during my studies at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. As one might expect, mastering this medium and learning how to use it took a lot of time, especially because—even though there are fundamental rules—every artist has to find their own way of working with it. As a result, I had to experiment in order to find the ideal approach aligned with my intentions.

In fact, I’m still constantly searching for the perfect technique to help me realize my artistic goals. This is especially important considering that my method involves working while the paint layer is still wet, meaning the painting must be completed in longer sessions. This also depends on the amount of oil used. At the moment, I’m testing various types of oil, as they each have different drying speeds and levels of yellowing. For health reasons, I’ve also completely eliminated any toxic substances from my working process—another important factor.

In short, I chose oil painting because it perfectly aligns with my objectives, and it’s also the medium I enjoy the most. It’s essentially an alchemical process. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the same results couldn’t be achieved using other media.

Can you tell us about your creative process? How did your work come about? How long does it take you to create a piece? When do you know it’s finished?

First, in my exploration of painting as a medium, I deal with the issue of using pre-existing visual imagery as the starting point of my work. All of my paintings begin with stills taken from political films from the 1960s and 1970s. The central themes of these films—though not necessarily in order—are politics, conspiracy, paranoia, corruption, freedom, power, etc.

I carefully select these images and digitally modify them in various ways until I arrive at the form of the future painting. I transfer them onto canvas and begin the painting process, which I’ve already partly described. This artistic gesture could be described as post-digital because it involves digital media, but ultimately includes materiality in its final stage. Since snapshots are the basis of my paintings, we could say the images I use are nomadic—they move from one medium to another.

Even though I mostly rely on the alla prima technique, I often return to each painting once or several times, which is why I work on multiple pieces at the same time. If I’m working on a small-format piece (like the one I received an award for), it usually doesn’t take too long. However, it also depends on how detailed the source image is. Sometimes it requires much more time and effort than expected. As I mentioned, one reason I work on several pieces simultaneously is because I rarely complete them in a single session. I also often look at them on my studio walls to assess what more could be done before considering them finished.

I try to get the most out of each painting until I am fully satisfied with every part of it. I chose grey tones because they reference capitalism, where everything is grey—photography, film, print media, television, computers, screens, etc. Michel Pastoureau even referred to grey as the color of capitalism.

Ultimately, my goal is to create paintings that can be recontextualized. They may refer to the original context, but they don’t have to. The themes presented in the films I mentioned are still relevant today. By reviving information I absorb from other media—in this case, film—I’m more interested in creating ambiguous works. As Nataša Radojević, the curator of my most recent solo exhibition at Drina Gallery in Belgrade, noted:

“The appropriation and transformation of film stills are central to Vučković’s work. By reviving information absorbed from films, the artist is primarily interested in creating paintings capable of evoking subtle associations with social and political events. (…) Vučković’s works do not offer an abundance of data—their communicative language is multivalent. As a result, the viewer is never entirely sure how to interpret the object of the painting. The fact that it avoids one-dimensional messaging leads us through the deconstruction of the existing toward the construction of new dimensions. His work exists in a floating space between the original context and the potential for alternative interpretations, enabling a mutual convergence of possible conclusions. Thus, the artist becomes an investigator in the process of creating the painting, while the viewer, absorbing its content, completes its interpretation.”

Who are your favorite artists? Which ones inspire you?

I particularly appreciate the artists of the Narrative Figuration movement, such as Jacques Monory and Gérard Fromanger, but I also admire the work of Mark Tansey, Gerhard Richter, Luc Tuymans, Eberhard Havekost, Wilhelm Sasnal, Shi Xinning, Marcin Maciejowski, and others. As a filmmaker, Jean-Pierre Melville has certainly influenced my work.

THE ARTIST