Atelier+

For me, earth is the archetypal matter, the substance from which all things come into being and to which all things return.

In her new cycle of works presented under the exhibition title Atelier+, the young Osijek-based sculptor Josipa Stojanović identifies as her central thematic axis the relationships between body, material, and space, positioning the exhibition itself as the materialisation of that inquiry. In parallel with this theoretical strand, her artistic research employs experimental sculptural methods, focusing not only on strict formal concerns but also the interdisciplinary interpretations of medium. One such method is the collection and mapping of soil samples from geographically distinct areas of comparable geological character, particularly those rich in clay, a process which, in her own words, “will allow me to connect the material, cultural, and symbolic layers of a space and to explore how material becomes a witness to history and movement.” A second mode of working-artistic cartography, closely related to the first, involves the transposition of one space into another. In this instance, the dimensions of the artist’s studio are reconstituted within the exhibition gallery as a spatial drawing, its contours rendered in clay at the scale of the sculptor’s working environment. With this artistic gesture, Josipa Stojanović synthesises the concept of spatial autonomy, distinguishing the studio as a site of artistic production from the gallery as a site of public presentation, with the symbolic charge of the material itself, which holds within it multiple layers of meaning: the physical and the spiritual, the biological and the cultural, the natural and the constructed. In an era defined by rapid transformation across virtually all domains of human existence, technological and ecological alike, earth functions for Josipa Stojanović as both witness and vessel of an evocative oxymoron, a stability that is, at once, fragile and prone to fracture. Clay, a ubiquitous symbol of life and death across many cultural narratives, carries within it real, material records of what has been, and perhaps even portents of what is yet to come. Translated into the gallery space, sculptures of amorphous outline balance on plinths as though performing a dance. Their restrained movements hold our attention in suspense, as if in anticipation of what they might yet yield, like some contemporary Pygmalion awaiting his Galatea.

On a more personal level, the symbolism of earth constitutes for this artist an artistic territory in which her central concern is the boundary between the natural and the formed, between her own body and that of the sculpture. As is the case with any artist, the choice of material is also informed by private reasons: Josipa’s great-grandfather was formerly the owner of a brickworks, a connection that draws a direct line between family history and contemporary practice. The artist perceives this particular and clearly defined inheritance as a point of departure for examining the relationship between traditional notions of sculptural form and the contemporary artistic practices she seeks to engage with. Her primary concern is how to reconcile the experiences of preceding generations with her own, and how to transmit them onwards. This sense of connection, she suggests, runs deeper than a straightforward preference for any given material or medium. Worked by the artist’s hands, clay becomes a repository of memories and emotions, poised at the boundary between the personal and the collective. As a material that retains the imprint of every touch, clay speaks of the relationship between human beings and the earth, of coming into being and remaining, and of all the stations of life that lie between.

Valentina Radoš

Josipa Stojanović was born in 1993. She graduated from the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek. Since 2018, she has been working at the Academy as an assistant in the field of sculpture. She is a recipient of the University Scholarship and the Rector's Award, as well as the Ljevaonica Art Prize for her work "Self-Portrait" at the 34th Salon of Young Artists. She is an active member of HDLU Osijek, has participated in art residencies and Erasmus+ programs in Austria, Hungary, and Jordan. She has had five solo exhibitions and more than fifteen group exhibitions in Croatia and abroad. In 2023, she was a finalist for the Golden Lubenica Award in Pula for her work "Nedoumica" (in collaboration with Marijo Stojanović).