Nevena Kostić was born in Serbia in 1988. Since her early years, Nevena was a professional dancer, and before deciding to enroll in an Art Academy, dancing used to fill her days.
As a child, Nevena already attended various art courses to learn diverse creative techniques.
Hello Nevena, can you tell us something about your creative path?
I attended the high school of art since 2007. In 2012, after gaining a degree from the Faculty of Philology and Arts in Kragujevac, I had a Masters’s degree in fresco painting.
Today I have participated in several shows inside and outside Serbia and am a ULUS (Association of Serbian Fine Art Artists) member since 2015. Since 2018 I am represented by the Gallery Artium in Kragujevac (Serbia).
How did you discover you wanted to become an artist?
While studying at my Master’s, I did a series of paintings about rhythm. It happened then. The moment I met a brush, I felt a magnetic attraction. I knew I was on the right path of exploration and self-realization.”
What happened next?
After accomplishing my studies, I got a job in an art high school as a drawing and painting teacher. I think it’s terrific to work with young artists, as educating them is a delicate responsibility and opportunity.
Also, since graduating, I have started undergoing independent research. I sometimes miss the consultation with a professor or someone who may recommend me the best path according to my sensibility. Now though, I enjoy learning and exploring by visiting museums and exhibitions, film screenings, and performances to gain inspiration and new ideas.
What does your research focus on?
The main topic of my research is the human body in space. The body is naked, alone, facing all its fears and suffering. I want my subjects to explore the truth about themselves. The figures are mainly males, which may have more than one head, an allusion to long photography exposure. They express anger, alienation, and struggle – which is, to me, the definition of today’s society. I think that the work of an artist is a lonely one. Our job is to make a process, which for the viewer is continuously transformed by social contingencies, smoother and transparent.
It may only happen through the relation between the author, the artwork, and its audience.
Can you tell us something about your technique?
It is a combined technique of hand-tinted paper, acrylic, charcoal, ink glued on canvas, or paper. From the earlier days, I felt a special connection with the collage technique. Unlike painting with a brush, I do it with torn pieces of paper and lightly fill the puzzle, so each piece has its appropriate shape and place.
My intention is not to represent the detail of a moving body part, but the spirit and concerns encompassing it. I paint supported by emotions, and these are what construct my paintings.
The movement is a metaphor in the world’s overall pulsation that carries a unique and lasting message.
Who influenced your creative process?
One of the central figures who significantly influenced my work is the Austrian painter Egon Schiele, whose work involves intense sexuality, twisted bodies in spasms, expressive, nervous lines that are universally present in the artworks.
I would also mention Irish-British artist Francis Bacon, an enigmatic painter who gave his art a nightmarish quality.
What else outside art is part of your inspiration or routine?
Since I started practicing yoga actively, all the fear present in me is gone. It merely took a different form, and I channeled it through my work. That is why one needs to expel every block or negative emotion through tears, the cleansing process, sweat, and work. When I do that, I feel free and relaxed.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Given the current situation in the country, it is time to wait for a solo exhibition. Still, I plan to participate in various international exhibitions, if given the opportunity and art residencies. And maybe there will soon be an online exhibition with a gallery. I don’t overthink the future; I live now in the present moment, look forward to meeting new people, exchanging experiences, and of course, traveling a lot.
Nevena Kostic is part of st-Art Amsterdam. Get in touch for any purchase inquiry here.
To view more of her work visit her website or follow her on Instagram.
