Born in 1994, Veljko Vučković, this year’s recipient of the prestigious Award for drawing from the Vladimir Veličković Foundation, will showcase the selection of twenty oil paintings of various sizes created over the past four years. The appropriation and transformation of film clips are central to Vučković’s work. Revitalizing information absorbed from films, the artist is primarily interested in creating paintings capable of evoking subtle associations with social and political events.The potential for unlimited reproduction of media images in Vučković’s artistic process serves as an endless source for further manipulation and technical processing. The creation process involves selecting, appropriating, and deconstructing film frames, thorough digital editing of fragments, montage, collage, and then transferring them onto canvas. The original footage is cut, transposed into black and white, certain elements are eliminated, parts are shifted, others rotated, frames adjusted, often altering contrast or lighting in specific areas, adding words, or making similar interventions. This so-called post-digital artistic gesture applies an archaeological approach in selecting templates that are meticulously reviewed, digitally reorganized, and materialized using traditional oil painting techniques. 

According to exhibition curator Nataša Radojević, Vučković’s works do not provide a wealth of data—their communicative language is multivalent. As a result, viewers are never entirely certain in interpreting the object of the painting. The fact that it does not stop at a one-dimensional message leads us through the deconstruction of existing to the construction of new dimensions. His work resides in a floating interstice between the original context and the potential for alternative interpretations, facilitating mutual approximation of potential conclusions. Thus, the artist becomes an investigator in the process of creating the painting, while the viewer, absorbing its content, completes interpretations. 

In his essay on Vučković’s work, curator of Nigerian origin Azu Nwagbogu emphasized: “The lens stands out as one of the most pivotal human inventions of the previous century, a tool that possesses the remarkable ability to capture, create, document, and archive artefacts of our time through cameras, films, and various new media technologies. However, what about the lens of the human eye, embodied by an artist? Veljko Vučković’s keen lens blinks and captures nuances from films, serving as the foundation for his artistic exploration. Vučković’s work is not fueled by nostalgia, but by a profound curiosity that meticulously traces the subtle remnants that persist today, archived within the movies from the sixties or seventies. He transforms this research into another art form—paintings. The solo exhibition “Wheels that Never Spin” showcases Vučković’s recent inquiries, offering a journey that slows down your absorption of his deep reflections on the passage of time. Who truly shapes history? Is it the unfolding of events or the individuals who partake in them? Rarely do we encounter paintings executed with such unwavering conviction and skill. “Wheels that Never Spin” represents Vučković’s exploration of an intricate dialogue that delves into the timeless progression of time. His paintings serve as artifacts of our era, seemingly spinning at a pace unparalleled in human history, yet embodying the enduring themes that persist.”

Text by Nataša Radojević and Azu Nwagbogu