Juliet art magazine participates in ArteGenova 2025 – 19th Mostra Mercato d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea which takes place from 14 to 16 February, in the Padiglione Blu of the Fair, with the entrance at Piazzale John Fitzgerald Kennedy n. 1. The exhibition that Juliet offers in its stand is a dialogue between the works of two authors: Igor Antić and Elisabetta Bacci. It is possible to find, upon careful reading, a shared dialogic level in their work based on emotional instances which are linked to the dynamics of a very articulated and lively chromatic chant. Despite the presence of a strong theoretical and speculative structure, these two authors express their linguistic identity through a very precise formal balance. We met Igor Antić to talk about his work.

Igor Antić, “Produits dérivés”, 600 custodie di cartone. “Creation of a Powdered Champagne”, in: “Expèrience Pommery 4”, Domaine Pommery, Reims, 2007. Ph courtesy the Artist
Roberto Vidali: What is your artistic education?
Igor Antić: I began engaging with art spontaneously, through illustration. Subsequently I ended up graduating from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, where I now teach in doctoral studies as a visiting professor.
What are the reasons that brought you to France?
In 1985, I set off for Paris without knowing anything about it. A few years later, I enrolled at the Beaux-Arts in the studio of Vladimir Veličković and soon began receiving awards one after another. From Japan to various biennials in France, success suddenly became immense. Then I was selected to attend the Institut des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques (IHEAP) of Pontus Hultén, the director of the Pompidou Center, which was a unique place on the planet. They admitted only twenty young artists from around the world to participate in roundtable discussions. Among those invited were Hans Haacke, Michael Asher, Ilya Kabakov, Benjamin Buchloh, Pierre Bourdieu, and many others. It was there that I was definitively shaped as an artist. I also participated in the first inaugural Biennale in Cetinje with Julije Knifer, Sarkis, the IRWIN group, and others, even though I was still just a kid. However, the most terrible thing happened to us: the war broke out in the former Yugoslavia and disrupted everything fundamentally. Thus, I was forced to stay in France, which determined the course of my life.

Igor Antić, “Intermission #3”, action, in: “La Barre des Écrins” 2013. Ph courtesy the Artist
How do you like France?
I still live in Paris because so many interesting things happen here. Sometimes you disappear from the scene, only to reappear after some time in the best possible light. And that is precisely the charm of this city.

Igor Antić, “Unfinished Shape #22”, 2023, installazione site-specific per Bali Bey Mosque, Niš, Serbia. Ph courtesy the Artist
Can you tell us something about the reason and the meaning of your artistic production?
In the period of 1990/91, while I was still focused on painting, I reached a point where it became clear to me that this medium could not fully express everything that interested me and everything I aspired to as an artist. At that time, I was creating series of about a hundred abstract paintings through which I fanatically tried to solve problems of composition—specifically, to organize the two-dimensional space of the canvas using colors, lines, shapes, textures, or brushstrokes of varying qualities. With these elements, I sought to create dynamics and a sense of movement within the canvas. Gradually, I realized that solving compositional issues didn’t stop at these boundaries because a painting, as an object, is subject to the atmosphere and character of a given environment, which affects both its content and the meaning of my work. For this reason, I turned to working with three-dimensional space and began replacing pictorial elements with architectural components or incorporating nature into my works. It was at this point that I encountered Daniel Buren, the originator of the in situ practice—interventions on-site. His realizations and writings definitively paved the path I still follow today. The similarities between us could be discussed at length, but what sets us apart is, above all, the political context in which each of us evolved. The war in the former Yugoslavia made it clear to me that a work of art cannot maintain its autonomy in relation to society. Thus, alongside the previously mentioned elements, politics, economics, and everything else that constitutes the social dynamics of a place – both locally and more broadly – became integral parts of my work. My works thus become a kind of mirror of the spaces where they are displayed, but also something more: they are situations in and of themselves. For me, in situ means creating a new situation and situating my work in an appropriate set of circumstances so that it can function effectively. In more recent times, I’ve been experimenting with painting techniques sequences of colored elements: their language, and their symbolism that intrigue me, as new combinations among them can sometimes lead to unexpected surprises.

Igor Antić, “Sycophante Phase 1-7”, 2023. Ph courtesy the Artist
What works do you plan to present at ArteGenova 2025?
For this occasion I propose some paintings, based on the play of words, letters, and numbers. It’s a way to question our understanding of language and meaning, but it is also an exercise in which colors provide a dynamic and interactive character. The goal is to blur the boundaries between different layers of meaning, while at the same time having fun. The images we create are lifeless until our imagination sets them in motion. Art accelerates this process best because it presents us with situations that are often on the edge of the absurdity of our existence. The more extreme the art is, the more determined we are to engage with questions of meaning. I only ask questions, I do not offer answers. Answers are individual and valid only for a short time, in a given situation. After that, they turn into new sources of questions, because man is made in such a way that he constantly builds and destroys his balance.
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He is editorial director of Juliet art magazine.
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