Rad In Visible Vladimira Novaka prvi je put postavljen u sklopu 29. slavonskoga biennala u Osijeku zime 2024. godine. Tada je ovaj rad, na najizravniji način, odgovarao na pitanje kustoskog poziva te izložbe. Naime, kroz naslov biennalea – Institut nevidljivoga, prostori percepcije – postavio se upit umjetnicima o istinskoj prirodi njihova rada. Kako činiti vidljivim ono što je nevidljivo, neopipljivo, nedodirljivo… Naglaskom na ideji kao takvoj, žiri ovog biennalea zanimala su umjetnička nastojanja za koja nije nužno da im odmah pronalazimo ili vidimo fizički obris. Isto se tako podnaslov izložbe, prostori percepcije, odnosio na prostore umjetnikova duha; kategorija bivanja koja je ponekad vanjskom promatraču latentna, ali zato ništa manje potentna. Rad In Visible, prostorno specifična instalacija u svojim postavkama, kao i u izvedbi, sadrži odgovore na gore artikulirana pitanja. Rezultat je intuitivan i prirodan, jer smjer umjetničkog istraživanja ovog autora fokusiran je na preispitivanju granica samog medija skulpture, i to onkraj vidljivog i materijalnog koje nas okružuje. Prvi put postavljen – pred prozorom južne fasada zgrade barokne Glavne Straže, a danas rektorata Sveučilišta - rad spaja konstante u radu Vladimira Novaka. Redom su mu radovi tehnički avansirane i često izuzetno kompleksne izvedbe, koje u svojoj najimpresivnijoj materijalnoj prisutnosti emaniraju upravo ono najdelikatnije i najnevidljivije iz našeg osjetilnog svijeta. Tako i u ovom radu. Oklop od inoksa - koji u svojoj utrobi krije kompleksan strojarski projekt pumpi, motora, cijevi i spremnika vode – pridržava golemu prozirnu stijenu, koja u međuprostoru od dvaju stakala, drži veliku količinu vode. I to je trenutak, ili bolje rečeno točka, u kojem Novakov rad zalazi u svijet nevidljivog ili jedva vidljivog; iz materijalnog i prostornog u idejno i subliminalno. Naime, staklena ploha njegova prozora služi za filtriranje i projekciju dnevnog svijetla, koje se pojavljuje tijekom dnevnih sati. U unutarnjem prostoru sjene koje se na taj način stvaraju, kreću se i pomjeraju ovisno o vodenoj crti u prostoru između dva stakla. Pokret je uzrokovan nasumičnim radom motora i pumpe koji dižu i spuštaju crtu vodene površine. Ovisno o djelu dana, mjeseca, godine, te kutu sunčeva položaja na nebu, pred nama se odvija igrokaz sjena – koliko suptilno toliko i sugestivno. Mirni hod sjenki po podu i zidovima su pokretne apstraktne slike koje pozivaju na smirenje i vrijeme refleksije; posjetitelj izložbe suočen je nečim gotovo neuhvatljivim u našem suvremenom ži-
votu preopterećenih čula. Jedva vidljiva crta površine vode, krhka ali uvijek prisutna, također nudi simboličko čitanje često prekarne egzistencije umjetnika u (n)ovim vremenima sve veće krize – što socioekonomske, što egzistencijalne. Polazeći od dosadašnjih iskustava i interesa na relaciji čovjek/prostor, Novak ovdje radi radikalan otklon od vizualnog, oslanjajući se na sposobnost i strpljenje promatrča suočenog sa radom koji postaje vidljiv tek kad se brojni svjetlosni i klimatski uvjeti povoljno poslože. Usmjerava sebe, kao i nas promatrače, u sasvim novu imerzivnu iskustvenu konstrukciju.
In Visible – naslov koji opisuje rad koji je nevidljiv jednako koliko i postoji unutar nečeg vidljivog - upravo to i jest: vidljiv koliko i nevidljiv. Naglaskom na temporalnost, nestabilnost, nepredvidivost, kao i gotovo potpunu ovisnost o atmosferilijama, Novak uranja u tišinu ovog neuhvatljivog prostora između vizualnog impulsa sjena i statike arhitektonskog okvira postava. Umjetnik artikulira rad i u smislu svojevrsne autokritike, kao i kritike sve prisutnije konfekcijske masovne produkcije u svijetu umjetnosti – njegov nesvakidašnji spoj enormne količine uloženog vremena, resursa i tehničke ekspertize da bi se izveo rad koji je nevidljiv nosi odgovornost ne samo autora prema vlastitom radu, već društva prema umjetnosti općenito. Ili je možda baš suprotno – možda je ono što osjećamo okruženi ovim impulsima najviše realno - filigranski ispisano u sjenama.
Valentina Radoš
The work In Visible by Vladimir Novak was first presented as part of the 29th Slavonian Biennale in Osijek in the winter of 2024. At that time, the work directly addressed the curatorial question posed by the exhibition. Through the Biennale’s title – Institut nevidljivoga, prostori percepcije (Institute of the Invisible, Spaces of Perception) – artists were invited to reflect on the true nature of their work. How to make visible that which is invisible, intangible, untouchable... With an emphasis on the idea as such, the jury of this Biennale was interested in artistic endeavours whose physical outlines are not necessarily immediately apparent or visible. Likewise, the subtitle of the exhibition, Spaces of Perception, referred to the realms of the artist’s spirit; a category of being that is sometimes latent to the external observer, but no less potent. The work In Visible, a site-specific installation both in concept and execution, contains answers to the questions articulated above. The result is intuitive and natural because the artist’s creative focus centres on questioning the boundaries of sculpture as a medium, extending beyond the visible and the material that surround us. Originally installed – in front of the window on the southern façade of the baroque Main Guard building, and today the Rectorate of the University – the work combines constants of Vladimir Novak’s practice. His works are technically advanced and often highly complex in execution which, in their most impressive material presence, emanate precisely that which is most delicate and invisible within our sensory world. So it is with this work. A stainless steel shell – which hides within it a complex engineering system of pumps, motors, pipes and a water tank – supports a huge transparent panel that holds a large quantity of water in the space between two glass panes. This is the moment, or rather the point, where Novak’s work enters the realm of the invisible or the barely visible; from the material and spatial into the conceptual and subliminal. The glass surface of his window serves to filter and project daylight as it shifts over the course of the day. Inside, shadows formed in this way move and change depending on the waterline in the space between the two panes. The movement is caused by the random operation of the motor and pump that raise and lower the water’s surface. Depending on the time of day, month, year, and the angle of the sun in the sky, a play of shadows unfolds before us – as subtle as it is
suggestive. The quiet drift of shadows across the floor and walls forms moving abstract images that invite stillness and contemplation; the visitor is confronted with something almost elusive in our contemporary life saturated with sensory stimuli. The barely visible waterline, fragile yet constant, also offers a symbolic reading of the often precarious existence of artists in these (new) times of growing crises – both socio-economic and existential. Drawing on his previous experiences and interests in the human/space relationship, Novak here makes a radical shift away from the visual, relying on the viewer’s patience and capacity to engage with a work that only becomes perceptible when a range of light and climatic conditions align favourably. He leads himself, as well as us viewers, into a completely new immersive experiential construction. In Visible – a title that describes a work that is as invisible as it exists within something visible - is exactly that: as visible as it is invisible. By emphasizing temporality, instability, unpredictability, as well as almost complete dependence on atmospheric conditions, Novak immerses in the stillness of this elusive space between the visual impulse of shadows and the static nature of the architectural framework of the installation. The artist also articulates the work as a kind of self-critique, as well as a commentary on the increasingly prevalent mass production in the art world – his extraordinary combination of an enormous amount of time, resources and technical expertise invested in creating a work that is invisible speak to the responsibility not only of the artist towards his own work but of society towards art in general. Or perhaps it is the opposite – perhaps what we feel when surrounded by these impulses is the most real of all – delicately inscribed in the shadows.
Valentina Radoš
Vladimir Novak rođen je 1987. godine u Zagrebu. Diplomirao je kiparstvo na ALU u Zagrebu 2017. godine, gdje 2022. godine upisuje doktorski studij likovnih umjetnosti i gdje radi kao asistent na kiparskom odsjeku. Od 2015. godine kontinuirano i aktivno sudjeluje na umjetničkoj sceni predstavljajući svoje radove na brojnim samostalnim i skupnim izložbama Hrvatskoj i inozemstvu. Za svoj dosadašnji rad primio je nekoliko priznanja i nagrada; Rektorovu nagradu 2015. godine, HPB Grand Prix na 34. salonu mladih – Panoptikon, Nagradu Goranske kiparske radionice u Lokvama na XIII. Trijenalu hrvatskog kiparstva 2018. godine, te Nagradu Radoslav Putar 2025. godine za najboljeg mladog suvremenog umjetnika u Hrvatskoj u organizaciji Instituta za suvremenu umjetnost u Zagrebu.
Svoj umjetnički rad temelji na propitivanju medija skulpture s iznimnim interesom za poetiku prostora i razumijevanje plastičnog oblikovanja, arhitekture, gradnje, dizajna, svjetla i zvuka na relaciji prostor-medij-iskustvo promatrača. Ispitivanjem i igrom s pojmovima kao što su tijelo-masa, objekt-instalacija, predmet-skulptura, statičnost-pokret, svjetlo-sjena, izvedba-projekcija, odnosno pokretna-nepokretna (elektronska) slika, nastoji razbiti očite granice među njima. Svojim najrecentnijim radovima kroz radikalno dematerijalizirajuće i aperceptivne pristupe preispituje mogućnosti skulpture, senzorne i prostorne dimenzije medija u neprimjetnom, neopipljivom i nevidljivom spektru.
Vladimir Novak was born in Zagreb in 1987. He obtained his degree in Sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2017, where he enrolled in a doctoral programme in Fine Arts in 2022 and currently works as an assistant in the Department of Sculpture.
Since 2015, he has been actively and continuously involved in the art scene, presenting his works in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. For his work to date, he has received several awards and distinctions, including the Rector’s Award in 2015, the HPB Grand Prix at the 34th Youth Salon – Panoptikon, the Goranska Sculpture Workshop Award in Lokve at the 13th Triennial of Croatian Sculpture in 2018, and the Radoslav Putar Award in 2025 for the best young contemporary artist in Croatia, awarded by the Institute for Contemporary Art in Zagreb. His artistic practice is centred on exploring the medium of sculpture with a particular interest in the poetics of space and an understanding of sculpture, architecture, construction, design, light and sound in relation to space, medium and the viewer’s experience. By exploring and playing with concepts such as body-mass, object-installation, object-sculpture, stillness-movement, light-shadow, performance-projection, or moving-static (electronic) image, he aims to dissolve the clear boundaries between them. In his most recent works, through radically dematerialising and apperceptive approaches, he explores the possibilities of sculpture, sensory and spatial dimensions of the medium within an imperceptible, intangible and invisible spectrum.
