ZORAN KUZMANOVIĆ (1967)

Zoran Kuzmanović is a sculptor from Smederevo, Serbia, who makes small metal sculptures and public statues, as well as restores public monuments. He has created a number of sculptural series, the main part of which are sculptures with anthropomorphic themes. He also creates complex organic sculptural compositions linked in a dynamic spatial formation.

A central feature of Kuzmanović’s artistic practice is the depiction of heads resembling helmets or idols from the archaic period of human history. In the cycles titled Self-Portraits and Heads, Kuzmanović's sculptural treatment of the head is based on a process of abstraction and is thus completely separated from the face and the body. Kuzmanović’s head – a self-portrait – is an object with clear traces of creation and the artist’s unmistakable sculptural touch. In this context, the form is merely a frame that provides the viewer – the observer – with a direct experience, filled with mystery and humorous touches. The artist views the gallery space as an imaginary mould or a negative of his sculptures, which does not become an integral part of the whole until it is placed in front of the viewer.

Zoran Kuzmanović’s sculpture is monumental, regardless of the used format. Even if they are portrait-based sculptures, his works are not really portraits, but rather a selected collection of different psychic states that open up a wide field of meaning for the viewer’s interpretation.