Aug 24

Mila Gvardiol

Mila Gvardiol is an architectural and structural painter who has exhibited extensively in Serbia and Central and Eastern Europe. She has participated in over 300 group exhibitions and featured in almost 50 solo exhibitions to date. Recent solo exhibitions in Serbia include features at Blok Gallery, Milorada Bate Mihailovic Gallery, Modern Gallery, Gallery Sreten Stojanovic, and Gallery of Contemporary Art. Mila’s awards include first place grand prizes at the National Library at Golupac, XV International Exhibition for women painters, and 23rd Autumn Art Salon at Velika Plana, all in Serbia. Her work has been presented in a film titled Gvardiol - Mila Gvardiol which was produced by Radio Television of Serbia. She has also participated in half a dozen artist residencies in Serbia and Central Europe to date including Druga Nasa Art Colony and 50 Art Colony.

The paintings typically portray puristic interpretations of structures such as interstate highways, interior stairs, or scenes of architecture. Mila breaks down her subjects to basic forms of solid blocks of light and shadow and uses neutral or pale tones exclusively. With high contrast and high saturation, the paintings are a contradiction in representation as some areas are heavily defined while others portray gradual separation between sets of forms. There remains a deep sense of angularity through the depiction of cropped structures which usually follow in a triangular or diamond-shaped composition.

As a study in geometry, Mila’s paintings offer minimalistic tendencies in how we view subject matter. Architectural structures, infrastructure, and interiors just happen to communicate her best approach to convey a concept of puristic angular design principles. The paintings have an almost futuristic look to them, with the subdued color palette and stretched out compositions as the works almost appear robotic or similar to the appearance of simplified circuit boards, especially the Crossroads series which resembles interstate highways. Philosophically, the art asks the viewer if we are ascending or descending, are we driving or looking above or below the subject? Mila uses three-point perspective to have the viewer feel in motion or bracing for traction. A sense of friction can be felt as we contemplate these structures in isolation without objects or figures to interact with them, forcing the audience to rely on their imaginations in regards to their personal relationships to human-made constructs.

Stairs 7 (pictured above) has a perfect ‘T’ composition which acts as a counterbalance to the singular diagonal rail which comes across the upper portion of the surface. Unlike most of her other paintings, Stairs 7 conveys just as much flatness as three-dimensionality due to the angle of perspective. Almost appearing to be floating in space, the stairway is followed by a monochromatic pale blue background similar to the color of the sky while being fixed into place by the ‘T’ structure which could be a steel pillar within the interior.

Mila Gvardiol uses minimalist tendencies to convey contemporary design principles in regards to cropped forms of structure. Cold and cool, these lifeless constructs hover over the canvas like symbolic depictions of postmodern titans. Almost like creating her own mythology, Mila glorifies contemporary structures in a way which seem imposing, powerful, and omniscient. These grand, monumental structures embolden our senses and redefine the relationship between space and individual as well as collective perception. Through perspective, geometry, and a synthetic, smooth color palette, Milla communicates a sense of longing for identity, purpose, and placement in contemporary society.